Press Releases

Court Orders 50 Percent Reduction in Orange County Jail Population

SANTA ANA — The Orange County Superior Court today ordered a reduction of 50 percent of the population in the county’s jails in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, and Munger, Tolles & Olsen LLP.

Lawsuit: Sexual Harassment, Inhumane Conditions in O.C. Homeless Shelters

SANTA ANA — To spend nights in Orange County emergency shelters for people experiencing homelessness, women have had to endure relentless sexual harassment, including highly invasive body searches and voyeurism from staff members, as well as unchecked groping and lewd propositions.

Man Seized for ‘Latino Appearance’ Will Not be Deported

LOS ANGELES — Edgar Solano of Los Angeles was simply standing in line for a bus home at the Greyhound station in Indio, California in 2018 when plain-clothed federal agents approached, briefly questioned him, and then seized him, put him in handcuffs and took him to an immigration detention facility

Court Slams ICE for Handling of COVID at Mesa Verde

BAKERSFIELD — In a blistering federal court decision handed down today on the treatment of people imprisoned at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center that resulted in a horrific outbreak of COVID-19 infections, a federal judge condemned actions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) th

Teens Attacked by Delano Police Will be Paid Settlement

DELANO – The City of Delano in Kern County has approved a settlement with four high-school students who were harassed and attacked by police officers last year while walking through a residential neighborhood on their way to pick up prom passes.

Poet Jose Bello’s 1st Amendment Case Goes to Appeals Court

The First Amendment case of college student and immigration activist Jose Bello — who was arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shortly after reciting a poem critical of the agency — will be argued Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Court Hearing: Massive Bungling of COVID at Mesa Verde

BAKERSFIELD — A federal court hearing on Monday will show that deception, incompetency, and outright rejection of medical protocols by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brought about a horrific outbreak of COVID-19 infections that spread to about 60% of the immigrant population and