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California families impacted by police violence, advocates, and allies just made history. Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 392, the California Act to Save Lives, a bill to address police shootings – one of the most pressing forms of police violence afflicting Black and brown communities in the state. With this new law, California will go from having one of the deadliest, most permissive use ... Read More

After a parole board granted Richard Mireles his freedom earlier this year, he was shocked to learn that he still couldn’t cast a vote in California, the state he had lived in since he was born. Just three months shy of his 21st birthday, a court gave Richard a life sentence on his first felony case. In the two decades of his incarceration, Richard worked hard to change his life. He got sober, wor... Read More

SACRAMENTO — After putting facial recognition technology to the test using photos of all 120 members of the State Legislature, the American Civil Liberties Union of California released results that further support the need for AB 1215 by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), which bans facial recognition in police body cameras. Read More

BAKERSFIELD — Farm worker and immigration activist Jose Bello, who was arrested and imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shortly after reciting an anti-ICE and Trump administration poem at a public meeting, has been freed. His ICE-imposed bail of $50,000 was paid by: National Football League players Josh Norman and Demario Davis, who are members of the of the Players C... Read More

Erica Smith was making a fresh start. After being forced out of her home by domestic violence, she had spent the last three years cycling between homelessness and jail for petty offenses. But with the help of reentry organization Starting Over Inc., she finally secured stable housing and a job helping women who had experienced challenges like hers. She found community support in the Riverside chap... Read More

Download the Summer 2019 ACLU of Northern California Newsletter and read about our latest events and initiatives. Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California went to court today to seek an injunction that would prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from blocking Pangea Legal Services and other legal service providers meaningful access to people swept up in ICE raids. We are also asking a federal judge to prohibit ICE from processing people arrested in ICE raids until they are able... Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union along with Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS), created “We Have Rights,” a national immigrant empowerment campaign to inform immigrant communities of what to do when interacting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The campaign centers around four animated videos available in seven languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, Haitian Creole... Read More

SACRAMENTO — Today, the California Senate passed landmark legislation to strengthen the law on police use of force and reduce the number of deadly police shootings in the state. Assembly Bill 392: The California Act to Save Lives, introduced by Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), will establish a “necessary” use of force standard, paving the way for other states to follow suit. Police o... Read More

This Pride weekend, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, let’s march, let’s celebrate, let’s party. But first let us remember today and always that the lives of Black trans people, and specifically the lives of Black trans women, matter. Let’s recognize and memorialize the great social, political, and civil rights gains achieved over the past 50 years by Black and Latin... Read More