Court Cases

On April 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Mullin v. Dahlia Doe, a case challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Syrian immigrants living and working legally in the United States. The case could affect the future of the entire TPS program, which has been a target of the Trump administration and its openly racist mass deportation agenda. TPS is a program established by Congress in 1990 to protect individuals who cannot safely return to their home country due to war, natural disaster, or other emergencies. TPS holders are mothers, fathers, workers, and contributing members of their communities. They rely on this humanitarian protection regime for safety. The Supreme Court’s ruling will impact not only Syrian TPS holders but will also affect whether the Trump administration can move forward with its actions seeking to strip legal status from many others. There are 1.3 million individuals from 17 countries designated for TPS. At the time the Supreme Court will be hearing this case, the Trump administration has terminated TPS for 13 countries—despite ongoing wars and undisputed humanitarian crises. Alongside our co-counsel the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), Muslim Advocates, and Van Der Hout LLP, the ACLU of Northern California represents seven Syrian nationals with TPS or pending applications in Mullin v. Dahlia Doe, a class action lawsuit originally filed in October 2025. Cancelling TPS designation for Syria would subject nearly 6,100 Syrian TPS holders, along with 800 Syrians with pending applications, to immigrant detention and possible deportation to an unsafe country. The plaintiffs argue that the DHS Secretary does not have the legal authority to unilaterally override the TPS statute enacted by Congress, and that it is the role of the judiciary to review the government’s legally dubious actions.

A habeas petition based on claims brought under the Racial Justice Act, in which our client is challenging his conviction and death sentence. We subsequently filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging four unfounded disciplinary infractions.

Original writ petition challenging California’s death-penalty system under the state constitution’s equal protection provisions.

The ACLU Foundations of Southern and Northern California and co-counsel Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Martínez Aguilasocho Law, Inc. filed a lawsuit today against Kern County and Kern County Superior Court for systematically denying poor misdemeanor defendants their constitutional rights to counsel and due process. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of UFW Foundation and three Kern County residents.

The ACLU of Northern California has filed a lawsuit to compel the city of Vallejo to release public records that contain information about officers in the Vallejo Police Department who allegedly bent their badges after on-duty shootings as a badge of honor.

For years, Siskiyou County officials and the Siskiyou Sheriff’s Department have threatened, targeted, and intimidated Hmong American and other Asian American community members in an effort to isolate them and drive them out of the region. A new class action lawsuit led by four Asian American community members details how county officials have waged a systematic campaign of racist hostility and persecution, including restricting Asian Americans’ right to water and executing unlawful traffic stops, search and seizure practices, and property liens that are blatantly aimed at Asian Americans.