News & Commentary

Many high school students have reported being denied the opportunity to take necessary college prep classes. And a disproportionate number of those were students who were either pregnant or parenting.

Public participation in decisions about whether to equip police with surveillance technology is often the exception rather than the rule in California and across the country. Oakland knows this all too well.

The technology that we use for everything from balancing our budget to finding a date is constantly evolving – but the laws that protect our electronic information are stuck in the digital dark ages.

In San Francisco, yet another example of police abuse came to light when Jami Tillotson was arrested outside a courtroom in the Hall of Justice while attempting to protect her clients’ right to counsel.

It’s a month since AB 60 - The Safe and Responsible Driver Act went into effect: since then, all eligible Californians can apply for a driver’s license, regardless of immigration status. This is a huge victory that immigrants and advocates fought for over two decades.

The Obama administration's decision eight months ago to massively expand the detention of immigrant families with children means that more newborns, toddlers, and young children will suffer imprisonment for no good reason inside dangerous detention facilities.

When I met Milagro* and her toddlers, they were facing imminent deportation to Honduras – a near certain death sentence in light of the extreme violence they would face there. But now they have hope.

Do you have the right to tell others that you saw an on duty cop in public? According to law enforcement in two Associated Press articles this week, the answer is “No.”

It seems basic enough to ask that one be treated like a human being – that a person’s dignity be honored in life and death. But tragically for too many transgender people that is still a far off dream.