News & Commentary

Undocumented immigrants are a pillar of the U.S. economy, not a drag on productivity and services. That's the message of a letter our Orange County office sent to Assembly Republican holding hearings this month about the impact of undocumented immigration on California. The hearings, billed as "town hall forums," do not include an opportunity for public testimony.

LOS ANGELES - On behalf of four immigrant detainees who are being held indefinitely in Southern California, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, and the Stanford Law School Immigrants' Rights Clinic announced today it has asked a federal judge to put an immediate end to their illegal detention.

The ACLU/SC asked a judge to immediately release four immigrant detainees who are being held indefinitely in Southern California. Some have been held as long as four years without a hearing, a practice the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional for immigrants six years ago. The request marks a dramatic step in a class action lawsuit the ACLU/SC and other immigrants' rights groups filed September 25 on behalf of people who have been held arbitrarily for years while fighting their immigration cases.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (right), banned Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, and ACLU members from across the country are coming together Oct. 15-17 in Washington, D.C. Hobnob with politicos, activists, authors, and former government officials from both sides of the aisle.

LOS ANGELES — Air Force veteran Mustafa Aziz's two-year naturalization odyssey ended Wednesday, along with those of six other plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit, Aziz v. Gonzales, filed by the ACLU of Southern California, the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project and the Council on American-Islamic Relations in August against the federal government.

LOS ANGELES - An Air Force veteran and six others will become U.S. citizens after years in limbo because of an ACLU of Southern California lawsuit challenged naturalization delays. All the plaintiffs had fulfilled the requirements for citizenship including passing a naturalization exam and interview, but were kept waiting at least seven times the legal limit.

Anti-choice radicals are putting teens in double jeopardy. Last year California voters rejected Proposition 73, a "parental notification" law that would have delayed medical care teens need and rolled back abortion rights. This year it's back as Proposition 85. With Nov. 7 just weeks away, visit our No on Prop 85 website and get involved to help us win again.

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California is pleased Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law Friday an education improvement bill that builds on the landmark Williams v. California settlement and improves the $800 million Emergency Repair Program. The bill was signed on the second anniversary of the Williams settlement.

The landmark Williams v. California settlement provided $800 million for the state's crumbling schools. But until last week, school districts were hesitant to apply for funds to fix their lowest-performing schools. An Assembly bill signed into law Sept. 29 will change that.