News

SACRAMENTO — One year after the tragic shooting death of Stephon Clark in his grandmother’s backyard in Sacramento, the ACLU of California is launching an advertising buy in support of legislation to reduce the number of police shootings in the state. The organization is investing in 30 second radio spots that will be featured for a two-week period on KHYL-FM in Sacramento and KPWR-FM in Los Angel... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California today released records revealing that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has gained access to an expansive surveillance database to target immigrants. The documents also reveal that local law enforcement agencies are aiding ICE in the surveillance efforts by sharing residents’ location information with ICE agents, some... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Last night, news broke that California Governor Gavin Newsom is planning to announce a moratorium on executions in the state. The following statement can be jointly attributed to the three executive directors of the California ACLU affiliates: Abdi Soltani (Northern California), Hector Villagra (Southern California) and Norma Chávez Peterson (San Diego & Imperial Counties):  Read More

MADERA, CA — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California today filed a lawsuit against Chawanakee Unified School District and Minarets High School administrators on behalf of two students for censoring the students’ speech celebrating their LGBTQ identities in violation of their free speech rights and right to be free of anti-LGBTQ bias in California schools. Steven Madrid and Mikayla Garaffa, t... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Today, California Attorney General Becerra announced that the state Department of Justice would not bring criminal charges against the police officers who shot and killed Stephon Clark, who was unarmed at the time, in his grandmother’s backyard on March 18, 2018. The announcement comes after days of protests in Sacramento following the decision by the county’s District Attorney who al... Read More

There is a national, statewide, and local pattern of police using excessive force against people of color during routine encounters. The video and reports provided by the San Mateo County District Attorney related to the death of Chinedu Okobi in Millbrae on Oct. 3 have all the earmarks of racial profiling. If crossing the street made Okobi the object of police attention and attempted detention – ... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Today, Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert announced that her office will not press charges against the officers who shot and killed Stephon Clark in his grandmother’s backyard on March 18, 2018. Clark was unarmed, holding a cell phone, at the time he was killed.  Lizzie Buchen, legislative advocate for the ACLU of California’s Center for Advocacy and Policy, had this ... Read More

SACRAMENTO - Today the ACLU of California joined a diverse coalition of privacy, civil rights, economic equity, and children’s advocacy organizations to announce support for AB 1760, Privacy for All, a bill introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland). Privacy for All puts Californians in control of the personal information that companies collect and share about them. As the technology ind... Read More

NEW YORK — The American Civil Liberties Union, Sierra Club, ACLU of Texas, and ACLU of Northern California today filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s emergency powers declaration to secure funds to build a wall along the southern border. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition and was filed in the Northern District of California. ... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — A settlement has been reached in J.I. v. United States, a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Northern California on behalf of a woman who was sexually assaulted by a U.S. border patrol agent when she was 17 years old. In July of 2016, two sisters, then 19 and 17, lost their way while traveling to the US from Guatemala, and encountered U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers ... Read More

NEW YORK — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today stated that President Trump will declare a national emergency. Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, issued the following statement in response: President Trump’s hankering for a wall at the southern border cannot be justified by calling a national emergency. This would be a clear abuse of presidentia... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO – Late on the night of Saturday, February 9, 2019, six Vallejo police officers shot and killed Willie McCoy, a 21-year-old African American man who had been sleeping in his car. In response, Peter Bibring, Police Practices Director of the ACLU of California, issued the following statement: Our thoughts are with Mr. McCoy’s friends and family as they mourn this heartbreaking los... Read More