Archive

California now has some of the strongest protections against policing for profit in the country. Although we had several legislative successes this year, two important, ACLU-sponsored bills died in the Legislature. Read More

Today, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 813, a measure that provides innocent individuals and noncitizens with the opportunity to challenge legally invalid convictions after they have served their time. Read More

Communities are being torn apart by mandatory immigration detention. Every day, more than 30,000 immigrants are held in prison-like without due process. Read More

On August 4, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the ruling in Mony Preap et al. v. Johnson. The class action successfully challenged the federal government’s practice in California of detaining certain immigrants without bond, often for many months, while they face deportation proceedings. Today’s ruling means thousands of California’s immigrants may now make an individ... Read More

Most immigrants who are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") and placed in deportation proceedings are eligible for release on bond. Under a broad and incorrect interpretation of federal law, however, each of the named plaintiffs in this case has been denied the opportunity to challenge his detention while deportation proceedings are pending. Read More

The federal government’s failure to help naturalize immigrants serving in the U.S. military has led to the deportation of untold numbers of veterans, all of whom were entitled to become citizens because of their service, according to a report released today by the ACLU of California. Read More

The purpose of this report is to share the trends and patterns we have identified, to offer policy solutions to end the disgraceful practice of deporting veterans, address the needs of those who have been deported, and, ultimately, to help bring our banished veterans back home to the U.S. where they can be reunited with their families. Read More

As of January 2015, any eligible California resident can receive a driver’s license, regardless of their immigration status. An applicant who doesn't have proof of lawful presence will receive an AB 60 license, which will have a visible distinguishing feature. Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Northern California, and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California today filed a lawsuit against the federal government for awarding millions of dollars annually to organizations that fail to provide crucial medical care to unaccompanied immigrant minors. The government authorizes some of these organizations to refuse — on religious ... Read More

Today the Supreme Court announced that it was deadlocked on United States v. Texas. The one-line non-decision leaves unanswered the central question about the president’s authority to set policy guidelines for the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in the deportation system. But it is a non-decision with a profound impact. Read More