News & Commentary
Lessons from Internment: Racial and Religious Profiling Are Never Warranted
My mother was seven years old when she and her family were evacuated from the West Coast and forced to live in an Army barrack behind barbed wire in an internment camp in Heart Mountain, Wyoming. Born in Los Angeles, she had been taught in school to be a proud and loyal American citizen, so the wholesale exclusion and relocation of her community was both terrifying and confusing. On the journey to Wyoming, the prisoners were ordered to keep their shades down when the train passed through towns; my mother thought this must be because people hated her and her community so much that they didn’t want to see their faces. She was incarcerated at Heart Mountain for three years before she and her family were permitted to return to their home in Los Angeles.
By Julia Harumi Mass
Making Things a Little Fairer in California, One Bill at a Time
California now has some of the strongest protections against policing for profit in the country. Although we had several legislative successes this year, two important, ACLU-sponsored bills died in the Legislature.
By Natasha Minsker
Huge Ruling! Mandatory Immigration Detention "Smacks of Injustice"
Communities are being torn apart by mandatory immigration detention. Every day, more than 30,000 immigrants are held in prison-like without due process.
By Cecilia Bermúdez, Angélica Salceda
Applying for a California Driver's License Under AB 60
As of January 2015, any eligible California resident can receive a driver’s license, regardless of their immigration status. An applicant who doesn't have proof of lawful presence will receive an AB 60 license, which will have a visible distinguishing feature.
SCOTUS on Deportation: A Non-Decision with Teeth
Today the Supreme Court announced that it was deadlocked on United States v. Texas. The one-line non-decision leaves unanswered the central question about the president’s authority to set policy guidelines for the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in the deportation system. But it is a non-decision with a profound impact.
By Cecilia Wang
Forget About Calling A Lawyer Or Anyone at All if You’re in an Immigration Detention Facility
This piece originally appeared at The Huffington Post.
By Julia Harumi Mass, Carl Takei
Undocumented and Unrepresented: The Solution to California’s Due Process Crisis
The human cost of detention and deportation has thousands of faces. Children, grandparents, parents, coworkers and neighbors, the majority of whom have endured the grave consequences of deportation proceedings without legal counsel.
By Angélica Salceda
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