News

A lawsuit filed in California Superior Court claims that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) unlawfully discriminates against hundreds of people each year in its wholly voluntary efforts to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). CDCR refers people in its custody to ICE for detention and deportation after they have served their time in prison, contributing ... Read More

The lawsuit filed in 2022 challenged the legality of civil assessments imposed on low-income Californians. The courts used the unlawful late fees to raise revenue to fund operations. Read More

People detained at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield and the Golden State Annex in McFarland have put a pause on a month-long hunger strike protesting inhumane conditions at the two immigration detention facilities, as a result of being subjected to weeks of retaliation from ICE and GEO Group, the for-profit prison company that owns and operates the facilities. Read More

Shortly after 6 a.m. on March 7, 2023, GEO Group officers, dressed in full protective riot gear with hard plastic face coverings and carrying batons and pepper spray, entered Dorm C of Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility, and attempted to force certain hunger strikers to leave the dorm. Nearly two hours later, officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), accompanied by other officers we... Read More

Five people detained at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, Calif., and the Golden State Annex in McFarland, Calif., have filed a class action lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and GEO Group, the private, for-profit prison company that owns and operates the detention centers. They allege that they and other detained people have faced retaliation, including ... Read More

Seventy-seven individuals detained at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield and the Golden State Annex in McFarland launched a joint hunger strike demanding the immediate release of all individuals detained at the facilities and the shutdown of both detention centers, owned and operated by the private prison contractor GEO Group. Read More

The Sikh Coalition and the ACLU Foundation of Northern California sent a letter urging the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to revise its discriminatory policy prohibiting full beards to accommodate staff who are either unable to shave due to a medical condition or who must maintain facial hair for religious reasons. Read More

The contract between the Department of Homeland Security and the Yuba County Sheriff's Department, which was set to expire in the year 2099 and generated over $8.6 million a year for the county, officially ended Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Read More

Today, the Board on Geographic Names (BGN) voted to officially rename Sq___ Valley, California, to Yokuts Valley. “Yokuts” means “the people,” and honors the land's first inhabitants, its present community, and welcomes future visitors and residents.  Read More

Sacramento resident Misael Echeveste and two local nonprofit organizations, United Latinos and NorCal Resist, today announced a settlement in their lawsuit against Sheriff Scott Jones for illegally transferring immigrants from the county jail to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights on behalf of the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria regarding repeated acts of discrimination against Native American students and students with disabilities in Loleta Union School District. The complaint reveals troubling patterns of racial hostilit... Read More

The Supreme Court is preparing to hear oral arguments this upcoming Wednesday, Nov. 9th in Brackeen v. Haaland, a case that could gut the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) — a law which establishes basic requirements to protect Native American children from continued forced removal from their families, tribes, and tribal culture.  Read More