Press Releases

Read a Protest Poem, Get Arrested by ICE

BAKERSFIELD — Farm worker, student, and activist Jose Bello read a poem he wrote, "Dear America," before the Kern County Board of Supervisors in May. It protested actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

Court Blocks ICE From Transferring Jailed Immigrants Away from Their Lawyers

RIVERSIDE — The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California won a preliminary injunction that blocks a plan by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from transferring jailed immigrants in Orange County to facilities outside of Southern California if they are represented by
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

Federal Court Declares ICE Raid Tactics Unconstitutional

LOS ANGELES — In a major decision over storm trooper-style tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal court today ruled that ICE agents violated the Constitution in their raid on a Van Nuys factory. ICE had warrants for fewer than 10 people working at Micro Solutions Enterprise
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

ACLU Charges Border Patrol with Violations in Holding Riverside County Man

RIVERSIDE — On May 17, auto mechanic Eludio Sanchez was speaking to his wife by cell phone when he was pulled over by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents and arrested. His family has not heard from his since. They likely wouldn't have even known he had been stopped if he hadn't been on the phone
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

ACLU Statement on Ninth Circuit Ruling on Child Immigrants’ Right to Counsel

LOS ANGELES – Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on C.J.L.G. v. Whitaker, a lawsuit that addresses whether immigrant children facing deportation should have the right to a court-appointed attorney. The court found that our client, known as C.J., did not receive a fair hearing.
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

ACLU Sues to Stop ICE From Transferring Jailed Immigrants Out of State

SANTA ANA — Immigrants jailed by the federal government while their deportation cases remain ongoing, sometimes for years, have two vital links to the outside world — their families and their attorneys — both of which are crucial to build cases that can lead to asylum or other legal status. But U.S.
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

Federal Court Upholds SB 54, the CA Values Act

SAN FRANCISCO — Today, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration's attempt to suspend the California law SB 54 that limits local and state law enforcement from acting as deportation agents. The ACLU of California, which supported the law — also known as the California
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

ACLU Statements on O.C. Sheriff’s Termination of ICE Contract

SANTA ANA — Today, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes announced that his department will terminate its contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house detainees at the James A. Musick facility in Irvine and Theo Lacy facility in Orange. In addition, the sheriff announced plans to