The Latest Breaking News from ACLU

Donald Trump is reinstated to Facebook after 2-year ban

Ending a two-year ban, Facebook says the public has a right to hear from its political leaders, ‘the good, the bad and the ugly — so that they can make informed choices.’

Chicago Sun-Times · Jan 26, 2023

Arizona-Led Effort Spies on Americans' Financial Transactions

Thousands of local, state, and federal law-enforcers have access to sensitive financial data.

Reason · Jan 20, 2023

North Dakota Legislators Consider Bill To Ban 'Sexually Explicit' Material From Public Libraries

"If you don't like a book, don't read it. The First Amendment's guarantee of the freedom of speech and the right to access information has created a beautiful marketplace of ideas in our country," said one ACLU representative opposing the bill.

Reason · Jan 19, 2023

Feds open civil rights investigation into Texas school district after LGBTQ book removals

DALLAS — The U.S. Department of Education opened a civil rights investigation into Granbury ISD, a North Texas district where officials removed books with LGBTQ themes.

Tribune News Service · Dec 21, 2022

Editorial: A school district's indefensible treatment of LGBTQ students

The Central Bucks School District is one of the wealthiest school systems in Pennsylvania. That will come in handy since the district is paying a lawyer $940 an hour to defend a federal complaint of its own making.

The Philadelphia Inquirer · Dec 20, 2022

New Mexico city sued for hounding, harassing the homeless

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and others are suing the city of Albuquerque in an effort to stop officials in the state’s largest city from destroying homeless encampments and jailing and fining people who are living on the street

The Independent UK · Dec 20, 2022

SC county settles ACLU lawsuit over ‘debtor’s prison,’ promises improved public defense

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lexington County, South Carolina, has reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought by several people who had been jailed in the county for a failure to pay court fines and fees, who compared their situation to a modern-day “debtor’s prison.”

Tribune News Service · Dec 19, 2022

Federal poll observers report lingering issues with Native language support in general election

WASHINGTON — Federal observers documented repeated issues with Alaska Native language support during the Nov. 8 general election, months after flagging concerns with election protocols in August.

Tribune News Service · Dec 18, 2022

Lawsuit accuses Miami of ‘racial gerrymandering’ in drawing new voting districts

MIAMI — A lawsuit filed Thursday accuses Miami of creating racially segregated districts when officials redrew the boundaries of the city’s voting map in the spring, a controversial process that drew opposition from neighborhood groups over concerns that the plan weakened the political power of Black voters in Coconut Grove.

Miami Herald · Dec 16, 2022

School board in Pa. wants to ban teachers from advocating ‘social policy’ issues. ACLU fears it would target LGBTQ students

PHILADELPHIA — The Central Bucks school board is advancing a policy that would ban staff members from advocating to students about “partisan, political or social policy issues,” a proposal critics said would have a chilling effect on teachers.

The Philadelphia Inquirer · Dec 16, 2022