News & Commentary

“A Broken System” is based on 18,000 Pages of Previously Confidential ICE, ABA and UNHCR Reviews of Detention Centers

Unlike Proposition 8 in 2008, any upcoming electoral campaign for marriage equality would be one of choice, not one of necessity in fending off an attack from religious-right foes. Timing is ours to determine. Going back to the ballot to remove the voter-imposed ban on same-sex marriage from the state constitution in 2010 would be rushed and risky. We should proceed with a costly, demanding, and high-stakes electoral campaign of this sort only when we are confident we can win. We should choose to Prepare to Prevail.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A three-judge panel today upheld the Los Angeles Police Department’s use of Special Order 40 – a decades old policy prohibiting officers from using immigration status to initiate investigations. The decision by the California Court of Appeals strikes a balance between immigrants’ rights to equal protection and officers’ duty to protect communities.

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California together with the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Progressive Jewish Alliance, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, have announced the creation of a hotline for Iraqi-Americans seeking legal assistance with FBI interviews. The U.S. government has announced that they are seeking to interview over 10,000 Iraqis throughout the nation in an effort to gather information related to the Iraq conflict.

LOS ANGELES -The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California today announced that Tamika McDonald of Manual Arts High School is one of 12 high school seniors nationwide to be awarded a $4,000 college scholarship in recognition of her exceptional contributions to the struggle to defend civil liberties. The ACLU's College Scholarship for Youth Activism Award recognizes the efforts of graduating seniors who have demonstrated a strong commitment to civil liberties throughout their careers in secondary school.

LOS ANGELES Today civil rights groups filed in the Superior Court of the State of California to expand Williams v. State of California, the landmark education lawsuit to ensure that all public education students in the state be provided with the bare minimum tools necessary for educational success. Since the lawsuit was filed in May, on the 46th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education , the ACLU has fielded hundreds of calls from parents, teachers, and students interested in getting involved in the case. Plaintiffs representing 28 new schools spanning the state from Watsonville to Long Beach have joined the case, bringing the total number of schools represented by named plaintiffs to 46.