Immigrants' Rights

California is home to more immigrants than any other state in the country. The ACLU of Northern California works to defend immigrants’ constitutional rights, end immigration detention, and stop state and local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Outline of the State of California overlaid with pictures of activists holding signs saying "Keep families together" and "Keep communities whole" and a plane flying over barbed wire
collage featuring hands reaching for each other, courthouse columns, and a US passport

Know Your Rights Guides For Immigrants

The fundamental constitutional protections of due process and equal protection embodied in our Constitution and Bill of Rights apply to every person, regardless of immigration status. Explore our collection of Know Your Rights guides for immigrants.

Know Your Rights

The Latest

News & Commentary
Courthouse exterior.

Garro Pinchi v. Noem: Habeas Petition Templates for Release From Immigration Detention

Individuals unlawfully re-detained in Northern and Central California may request release by filing a habeas petition in federal court.
Press Release
collage with courthouse pillars, activists, masked agent

Civil Rights Coalition Files Motions to Block Trump Administration’s Immigration Courthouse Arrest and Detention Policies Nationwide

Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights
Court Cases: Pablo Sequen, et al. v. Albarran, et al.
Press Release
Placeholder image

Sentencia de un tribunal federal sobre la terminación del TPS para venezolanos entra en vigor; abre el camino para impugnar detenciones y deportaciones

Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights
Press Release
A gavel in front of a shelf of law books

Federal Court Halts Trump Administration’s Immigration Courthouse Arrest Policy in Major Class Action Victory

Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights
Court Cases: Pablo Sequen, et al. v. Albarran, et al.
Campaign
Mar 2024

The Campaign to End California's Prison to Deportation Pipeline

Learn about the campaign to stop the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from funneling people into the federal deportation machine.
Campaign
Dec 2025

The California Immigration Detention Database

The California Immigration Detention Database tracks formal complaints, also known as grievances, that people detained in California's immigration detention facilities have filed to seek redress against the inhumane conditions of their confinement. Through the interactive chart below, this database aims to document patterns of abuse that people in detention have raised to detention facility staff and to act as a spotlight on staff responses to their grievances (or lack thereof). It is a resource for people in detention, their families, advocates, organizations, and anyone else who is interested in documenting the ongoing harms of immigration detention. For more information, read our report, Resistance, Retaliation, Repression: Two Years in California Immigrant Detention.