“These baseless threats are the latest in the Trump Administration’s campaign to coerce local police and sheriffs into serving as de facto immigration agents,” said Julia Harumi Mass, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of California. “Withholding federal money from cities and counties based on these reasonable local policies is both unlawful and unwise. Courts have already upheld the legality of local policies, like the ones cited in California, that limit the collection and sharing of information with federal immigration authorities.”

On Nov. 6, the ACLU of Northern California sent a letter to Taylor Swift’s attorney refuting  meritless legal defamation and copyright threats against local blogger Meghan Herning. The ACLU’s letter requested a response by Nov. 13.

 Today Senior Staff Attorney Michael Risher, issued this statement:

The deadline has passed and we have not heard from Ms. Swift or her attorney. Their failure to respond shows that the letter to Ms. Herning was full of empty threats and designed to intimidate.

The ACLU Campaign for Smart Justice released new public opinion polling today that shows consensus support for criminal justice reform across the ideological and political spectrum.

San Francisco — The ACLU of California today released a report that identifies 146 officer-involved shootings by the Fresno Police Department between 2001 and 2016 and analyzes the department’s policies and practices related to use of force, transparency, and community relations.

Today the three California ACLU affiliates launched a coordinated campaign to urge five key California Republican House members to support a clean Dream Act by the end of 2017. 

The ACLU of Northern California, Brianna Smith, a Visalia student activist, and ACT for Women and Girls based in Visalia, CA, are submitting public comments today regarding Visalia Unified School District’s proposed changes to the dress code banning “hate group” clothing being considered this evening by the School Board. ACLU Attorney Abre’ Conner, Brianna Smith, and students with ACT for Women and Girls will attend the hearing and give public comments in support of the points raised in the letter.