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Lancaster Sued Over Unlawful Citation System Targeting Poor People

LANCASTER — In the City of Lancaster, people who are homeless are treated as criminals and subjected to citations that carry fines far beyond their means to pay. They can appeal, but in a Kafka-like situation, the city demands that a fine be fully paid before an appeal can be heard.

February 8, 2021

Demand Letter to ICE: Release All Detained Immigrants

Today, new enforcement priorities under the Biden administration – set out in a memo issued by Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoske on January 20 — go into effect, marking a sharp reversal of a 2017 Trump directive under which virtually any undocumented immigrant was an ICE

February 1, 2021

ACLU Statement on CA Investigation of L.A. Sheriff’s Department

LOS ANGELES — Today, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the state was launching a civil rights investigation into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, among other groups, urged in a letter in October that an investi

January 22, 2021

Ninth Circuit Court Allows Jose Bello Immigrants’ Rights Case to Continue

BAKERSFIELD — In a key victory for immigrants’ rights and free speech, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today overruled a lower court ruling that rejected the lawsuit of  Jose Bello, a college student and activist who was arrested and jailed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce

January 14, 2021

Kern County Agrees to Ensure Public Access to Courts During Pandemic

BAKERSFIELD — The Kern County Superior Court has agreed, in the settlement of a lawsuit, to provide in-person access to court proceedings that had been cut off during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also agreed to provide remote audio access to proceedings.

January 11, 2021