Press Releases

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.

California to Allow Voters to Register to Vote at Every Polling Site on Election Day

SACRAMENTO — Today, California Governor Newsom signed SB 72, legislation introduced by State Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana) to allow all eligible Californians to register to vote and cast a ballot at all polling sites on Election Day. California now joins 13 other states and the District of

LAPD Settles Lawsuit on Access to its Public Records

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department has a long history of defying public records requests that under state law have to get a response within, at most, 24 days. Instead, the LAPD often refused to respond for months or even years. And then it sometimes gave only partial answers or didn't

NFL Players, Justice Advocates Pay Bail to Free Immigration Activist Jose Bello

BAKERSFIELD — Farm worker and immigration activist Jose Bello, who was arrested and imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shortly after reciting an anti-ICE and Trump administration poem at a public meeting, has been freed. His ICE-imposed bail of $50,000 was paid by:

ACLU Files Lawsuit on Behalf of Humanitarian Activists Targeted by Trump Officials

LOS ANGELES — Humanitarian activists on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border who provided aid to migrants were widely lauded for their service. But to the Trump administration, they were an enemy that had to be stopped. In March, it was revealed that the federal government operated a covert surveil

Court Rejects ACLU Bid to Release Rights Activist Jose Bello

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal court judge in San Francisco rejected a First Amendment lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California regarding farm worker and college student Jose Bello, now imprisoned at Mesa Verde detention center in Bakersfield. Bello was arrest