News

SAN FRANCISCO — The ACLU of Northern California proudly recognized Jim McQuillen, a Yurok Tribal member and dynamic champion for California’s indigenous students in Del Norte and Humboldt Counties, with the 2017 Chief Justice Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award at Bill of Rights Day on December 3. The award honors individuals who have distinguished themselves as leaders in the battle to preserve and... Read More

LOLETA – Tribal leaders are hailing the news that Loleta Union Elementary School District has entered into a Voluntary Resolution Agreement with U.S. Department of Education. The Loleta School Board is scheduled to discuss the agreement at its December 13th board meeting, which will be held at 5pm in Room 8 at the Loleta Elementary School. Leaders from the Wiyot Tribe and the Bear River Band o... Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union’s Campaign for Smart Justice is launching an initiative that focuses on bolstering the movement to end money bail and eliminate wealth-based pretrial detention. Read More

California-based refugees, immigrants, and their loved ones are filing suit today to challenge the Muslim ban. Read More

Today the three California ACLU affiliates launched a hard-hitting new online ad campaign, featuring actress Rosario Dawson, urging California Republican House members to support a clean Dream Act by the end of 2017. The five representatives are key votes and have not yet announced support for the bipartisan legislation to protect Dreamers from deportation. The powerful ads show a mother driving ... Read More

Primary contact: Inga Sarda-Sorensen, (347) 514-3984 (isarda-sorensen@aclu.org)Washington – The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily allow the latest Muslim ban to take full effect as the case is litigated. Two federal appeals courts will soon hear separate challenges to the ban. The Ninth Circuit will hear Hawaii’s case on Dec. 6, and the Fourth Circuit will hea... Read More

Download the Fall 2017 ACLU of Northern California Newsletter and read about our latest events and initiatives. Read More

San Francisco - The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) is pleased to announce that Free Speech for Equal Justice awardees from UC Berkeley have been selected. Awards amounting to $17,000 will be distributed to eleven student groups to bring a diverse range of speakers to campus to discuss racial justice, immigrant rights, LGBTQ inclusion, environmental justice, and other equal justice issues.La... Read More

F.E., a 17-year-old from Brentwood, New York, has returned home to his family after being detained for five months in jail-like facilities run by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Read More

The teenagers must be given notice of the reasons for their arrests, access to the evidence being offered against them, and a prompt hearing in front of a judge, in which the government would have the burden to justify continued detention.

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“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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More