Archive

On the heels of the president’s executive action, the decision by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to end the deeply-flawed Secure Communities program is a step in the right direction. But with a new program in its place that will target “enforcement priorities,” we are cautious.This decision acknowledges that the Secure Communities program had led to widespread civil right... Read More

The ACLU of California celebrates the President's move to keep millions of families together by protecting an estimated 1.6 million undocumented Californians from deportation. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning of a fight in addressing our broken immigration system. The ACLU remains committed to expanding relief to all immigrants and preventing further militarization of border. Read More

Today, California's Department of Motor Vehicles issued emergency regulations that will determine how driver’s licenses are granted to undocumented immigrants under California's AB 60 (Alejo). The DMV’s emergency regulations are effective for 180 days. Responding to community suggestions raised at hearings in Oakland and Los Angeles, the new regulations expand the types of documents which immigran... Read More

As the 2014 California legislative session came to an end, you may have seen headlines about California passing a “first-in-the-nation law.” While these headlines covered issues such as the statewide plastic-bag ban, they also applied to landmark civil liberties and civil rights legislation sponsored by the ACLU of California. Read More

California leaders have concluded another legislative session bringing significant new rights and opportunities to the state's 10 million immigrants. Read More

ACLU of Northern California report confirms Latino community's experience with racial profiling by California Highway Patrol in Fresno County. Read More

On Sunday, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 873, a bill which will set aside $3 million to provide legal aid to refugee children fleeing endemic violence in their home countries. In response, the ACLU of California issued the following statement: "While the ACLU of California applauds California lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown for taking important steps to ensure that some children aren't fo... Read More

Today a broad coalition of organizations commends Governor Brown for signing Senate Bill 1159, a bill that improves access to economic opportunities to immigrants in California. The bill, by Senator Ricardo Lara (D), allows qualified individuals to obtain professional licenses, regardless of immigration status. Thus California continues to lead the way in fully incorporating immigrants as contribu... Read More

Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $2.1 million for legal services for refugee children and families in the County who are facing deportation. It is the first county in the country to do so, although legislation to allocate $3 million from the State for this purpose is currently on Governor Brown’s desk.Paola, mother of five year old Axa, testified before the Bu... Read More

Today, the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced that the design for drivers' licenses for undocumented residents under California's AB 60 has been finalized. The front of the license will state "Federal limits may apply" on the top-right corner; the additional sentence on the back will remain as previously proposed. In response to this development, the Drive California coalition issue... Read More