Immigration Detention – An Irredeemable System

Our new report corroborates what people detained immigrant have been saying for years: ICE is committing widespread human rights violations across its immigration detention facilities in California.

By Brady Hirsch

bird behind barbed wire

Once Again, California Refused to Endorse Face Surveillance. Now It’s Time to Ban It.

For the third time in five years, California rejected a bill that would have greenlit government use of facial recognition across the state.

By Becca Cramer-Mowder

Collage of three people in black and white photo being scanned by face surveillance technology. In the botom right is a picture of a camera tainted red. On the left is an outline of the state of California

Gearing up for November: A Letter from Executive Director Abdi Soltani

By Abdi Soltani

Hands holding filled-out ballots

Ending Homelessness is Personal for John Do, ACLU NorCal Senior Attorney

John Do is the ACLU of Northern California’s lead counsel for a lawsuit challenging the city’s costly and ineffective practice of destroying unhoused individuals’ belongings, and citing, arresting, and moving them without offering shelter. For Do, who grew up poor in subsidized public housing, ending homelessness is personal. “I’ve always seen homelessness as a direct result of decades of poor policymaking and a lack of investment in affordable housing,” said Do, a senior attorney with the Racial and Economic Justice Program. “Without it, I know with one hundred percent certainty that my family would have been homeless.”

By Lisa White

Senior attorney John Do traveled to the U.S. Supreme Court in April to hear oral arguments in Grants Pass v. Johnson,  the landmark homelessness case.

Dozens of Mentally Ill People Have Died in California Jails

Dozens of mentally ill people have died in California jails when they should have been in state hospitals receiving treatment. An ACLU lawsuit demands answers.

By Tammerlin Drummond

Markese Braxton

Reclaiming Free Speech

By Shilpi Agarwal

raised fist in forground at a protest

On Campus Protests:  Statement of the Executive Director of ACLU of Northern California, Abdi Soltani

The ACLU of Northern California is closely monitoring the campus protests and the university and law enforcement responses in our region, particularly at California Polytechnic Humboldt. We are receiving and reviewing legal intakes from campuses across the region, including Stanford University and UC Berkeley.

By Abdi Soltani

Protestor tents on UC Berkeley campus

Californians Fought Hard for Driver Privacy Protections. Why Are the Police Refusing to Follow Them?

Automatic license plate readers collect and store highly sensitive information that can reveal where we work, live, worship, or seek reproductive health services. Sharing any ALPR information with out-of-state or federal law enforcement agencies has been forbidden in California since 2016.

By Nick Hidalgo

Illustrated photos of cars driving down a freeway

When it Comes to Facial Recognition, There is No Such Thing as a Magic Number

Companies and legislators are using misleading test scores to justify the expansion of facial recognition into our communities. That flawed approach understates the threat this dangerous technology poses to civil rights.

By Marissa Gerchick

Surveillance Camera