Around the country, automated systems are being used to inform crucial decisions about people’s lives. These systems, often referred to as “risk assessment tools,” are used to decide whether defendants will be released pretrial, whether to investigate …
Three years into the Biden administration, the number of people held in ICE detention continues to grow, and private prison companies hold an increasingly tight grip on the mass immigration detention system. As the ACLU has documented before, the federal …
Content warning: This piece includes disturbing details about the deaths of incarcerated people. LaShawn Thompson died late last year while being detained pretrial in Atlanta’s Fulton County jail. He was incarcerated there — and died — because he could not …
From banning books to restricting classroom discussions about race and gender, politicians across the country have been busy censoring speech in the name of “protecting the children.” Now they also have their eyes on limiting access to social media. …
A religious school can’t be a public school, and a public school can’t be religious. These fundamental legal tenets have long protected both the integrity of our public-education system, which serves all students, and the right of private religious schools …
Police violence is a pervasive issue across the country that has led to harassment, injuries, and deaths. Racial discrimination and excessive force disproportionately impact communities of color, which often have an outsized police presence. And although …
Earlier this month, a federal grand jury indicted Culpeper County, Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins for allegedly taking cash bribes and large campaign donations in exchange for appointing people “auxiliary deputy sheriffs” and allowing them to carry …
While many might assume that racial housing segregation is a thing of the past, predatory practices by landlords keep it alive in communities across the country. Landlords commonly use “no-evictions” policies that unfairly shut out families from housing …
Under a landmark court ruling issued this week, Illinois will become the first state in the nation to abolish cash bail. The state supreme court upheld the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act, which abolishes cash bail and specifies procedures judges must use …
Last year’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade proved to be a major galvanizing moment for people who support abortion rights in communities across the country as bans began to go into effect. One of those states is Michigan, where a grassroots coalition had …
At the end of its term, the Supreme Court upended established equal protection law with its decision in SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC, effectively eliminating the use of affirmative action in college admissions. The court’s decision disregards prior …
Last month, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Haaland v. Brackeen, delivering a landmark victory for tribal sovereignty, Native children, Native families, and the future of Native people. In a 7-2 decision by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the Court …
Fifteen years ago this week, then Senator Joe Biden voted no on the FISA Amendments Act, which legalized a secret mass surveillance program that allows the government to collect Americans’ international phone calls, text messages, emails, and other digital …
In 2006, I was sentenced to death for a crime I didn’t commit. The jury in my case was split 8-4. Eight people thought I was guilty and should be executed, and four people thought I was not guilty and should not be. Despite the divided jury, I was …
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has new leadership, with the appointment last week of P.J. Lechleitner as acting director. ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since the Obama administration, making Lechleitner’s appointment as acting …
Privacy laws serve as vital guardrails against the potential abuse of personal information in an increasingly interconnected world. As a nationwide organization dedicated to defending civil liberties, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recognizes …
At the ACLU of Wisconsin, our focus recently turned to two electoral cycles: the gubernatorial election in November 2022, and the April 2023 state supreme court election. I’m proud to say that there were many lessons learned, capacity built, and positive …
As Pride month comes to a close, the ACLU is shining the spotlight on those who are often at the center of harmful anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and discourse: transgender youth. Unfortunately, trans youth continue to face malicious attacks on their safety and …
“My mom and I wanted to fight this law not just to protect my health care, but also to ensure that transgender people like me can safely and fully live our truths,” said Dylan Brandt, one of our transgender youth clients in our challenge against Arkansas’ …
Today marks a historic moment in the lives of our nation’s pregnant workers: after more than a decade of advocacy on Capitol Hill, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), signed by President Biden in December 2022, goes into effect. PWFA mandates “ …
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