Press Releases

ACLU Statement on LAPD Use of Force on Unhoused People and Their Supporters

LOS ANGELES – People who are unhoused in Echo Park and those who support them were subjected to use of force by the Los Angeles Police Department and city officials who direct it.

McFarland Sued Over Unlawful Approval of Huge ICE Detention Center

BAKERSFIELD — In the battle over the establishment of a proposed 1,400-bed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in the city of McFarland in Kern County, hundreds of protesters showed up at meetings and rallies to make their opposition known.

ACLU Letter Criticizes School District for Free Speech Violations

BAKERSFIELD — The American Civil Liberties Union Foundations of Southern and Northern California today sent a letter to the Greenfield Union School District in Bakersfield, expressing deep concern that “the district has created a hostile environment for Black students and staff in its schools by sub

Kern County Sued Over Secret Court Proceedings

BAKERSFIELD — A cornerstone of our democracy is that court hearings and trials are not held in secret. But that's what happening in Kern County Superior Court where proceedings — including jury trials — are being held out of public view. In-person access was originally cut off because of the COVID

Assembly Constitutional Amendment 6 Passes CA Senate

SACRAMENTO, CA — Today the California State Senate passed Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 6, which would restore voting rights to over 50,000 Californians after release from prison. ACA 6, authored by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), passed with a 28-9 vote in the Senate, receivi

ACLU, Black Lives Matter-L.A. Sue Over Unlawful Curfews

LOS ANGELES — Today, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California filed an emergency lawsuit on behalf of Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles (BLM-LA) and individual journalists, protesters, and other individuals — the suit challenges the draconian curfews imposed throughout Southern California to crack

ACLU SoCal Statement on Curfews and Deployment of National Guard

LOS ANGELES — Please attribute the following statement to Hector Villagra, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California: “Universal curfews and the deployment of armed National Guard in Los Angeles are the wrong way to handle disruptions in otherwise peaceful protests. Curfews that bar all

Lawsuits Filed on Behalf of Terminal Island and Lompoc Prisoners

LOS ANGELES — COVID-19 swept through the federal prisons in Lompoc and on Terminal Island like wildfires. More than 900 people incarcerated in Lompoc have tested positive for the virus — that’s more than 65% of positive tests in all of Santa Barbara County where the prison facilities are located.