News & Commentary

It's the 135th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act, an immigration law that legitimized racism as policy.

On Nov. 9, 2016 we awoke to a new reality. America had elected Donald J. Trump as its 45th President. “We’ll see you in court” became the ACLU's mantra.

For months, the Trump administration has tried to bully local communities into signing up to become extensions of the federal deportation system. That campaign of threats and public shaming based on flawed data — which has been mostly unsuccessful — suffered another major blow yesterday. A federal court in San Francisco ruled in two cases that the president’s threats were unconstitutional, and stopped the government from carrying them out anywhere in the country. The ruling vindicates the constitutional rights of cities, counties, and states to refuse to participate in deportations. And like the court orders halting the president’s Muslim ban, the ruling shows the crucial role that courts play in preventing presidential overreach.

Did you know that California pioneered the public defender system in the early 1900s? It's time for our state to step up again.

One disturbing new trend is the increase in immigration arrests at state courthouses across the country. Beyond posing public safety dangers, these arrests also threaten our constitutional rights.

We fled Guatemala looking for a safer and more peaceful life. What happened to us after crossing the border changed our lives.  

Nos fuimos de Guatemala buscando una vida pacífica. Lo que paso después que cruzamos la frontera nos cambió la vida.  

Fresno City Council Member Steve Brandau wants Fresno to turn its back on immigrants, inclusion, and human dignity.

While California already has many great laws in place, there's much work to do for civil rights and civil liberties – especially now as the Trump Administration begins its attack on the most vulnerable among us.