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ACLU And MALDEF File Lawsuit Against Arizona Town Over Anti-Solicitation Law (03/25/2008)
PHOENIX – A local Arizona anti-solicitation ordinance targeting day laborers violates the free speech rights of individuals who express their availability to work by standing in public areas, charged the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Arizona and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) in a lawsuit filed today in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.

Challenge To Arizona Employer Sanctions Law Continues In Appellate Court (02/07/2008)
PHOENIX - After a Phoenix federal court today issued a decision that would allow Arizona officials to begin enforcement of the so-called Legal Arizona Workers Act on March 1, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Arizona, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) announced that they will ask the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to suspend the Act.

Civil Rights Coalition Condemns Court Decision Upholding Missouri Employer Sanctions Law (01/31/2008)
VALLEY PARK, MO – Today a Missouri federal court upheld the City of Valley Park's so-called "Illegal Immigration Relief Act" that unlawfully punishes business owners and employers who are suspected of hiring undocumented workers.

Civil Rights Coalition Continues to Challenge Arizona Employer Sanctions Law (12/21/2007)
PHOENIX – A Phoenix federal court today declined to issue an order suspending the so-called Legal Arizona Workers Act from going into effect on January 1, 2008. The law would compel businesses to check the work authorization status of employees using the Department of Homeland Security’s Basic Pilot program (recently renamed e-Verify) and would institute new state-based penalties, including the revocation of business licenses without federal authorization.

Civil Rights Coalition to Argue in Court Today that Arizona Employer Sanctions Law is Illegal (11/14/2007)
PHOENIX –Today in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, a coalition of civil rights groups argued that the so-called Legal Arizona Workers Act illegally punishes businesses by improperly requiring their participation in a flawed work authorization verification database and would lead to discrimination against workers who are perceived as being foreign born.

Families Sue Otero County Sheriffs Over Illegal Immigration Raids (10/17/2007)
LAS CRUCES, NM—Civil rights groups sued the Otero County Sheriff’s Department today for civil rights violations committed during immigration sweeps last September in the southern New Mexico town of Chaparral. On behalf of five Latino families, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico charged sheriff’s deputies with raiding homes without search warrants, interrogating families without evidence of criminal activity, and targeting households on the basis of race and ethnicity. The groups seek monetary damages and guarantees that the sheriff’s department will refrain from such raids in the future.

California First State to Prohibit Anti-Immigrant Ordinances (10/11/2007)
SAN DIEGO -- Calling it a major piece of legislation that will keep local government and private citizens out of the role of enforcing federal immigration laws, the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, along with statewide business and apartment associations and civil rights organizations, congratulates Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for signing into law AB 976. The bill, which was sponsored by the Apartment Association, California Southern Cities, will prohibit local cities and counties from enacting ordinances requiring landlords to check the immigration or citizenship status of their tenants, and likewise, will prohibit landlords from inquiring into their tenants' status.

NYCLU Praises Expansion of Immigrant Access to Driver’s Licenses (09/21/2007)
NEW YORK -- The New York Civil Liberties Union, along with immigrants' rights and labor organizations, applauds Governor Eliot Spitzer’s decision to broaden immigrant access to driver’s licenses. Under guidelines announced today, New Yorkers can obtain a driver’s license without regard to their immigration status.

ACLU Applauds Repeal of Anti-Immigrant Ordinance in Riverside, NJ (09/17/2007)
RIVERSIDE, NJ - The American Civil Liberties Union praised Riverside’s township council vote tonight to repeal an unlawful ordinance that would have punished landlords and employers for renting to or employing individuals it classified as “illegal” immigrants. Tonight’s vote was prompted by a lawsuit brought by a coalition of residents, businesses and landlords represented by the ACLU, the ACLU of New Jersey, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the People For the American Way Foundation, and the law firm of Ragonese, Albano & Viola.

ACLU Files Religious Discrimination Lawsuit Against Dallas Judge (08/31/2007)
DALLAS -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas filed a lawsuit today in Dallas County District Court on behalf of Amardeep Singh, against the Honorable Albert Cercone, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Place 3. Singh charges religious discrimination stemming from a 2006 incident in which he was ordered out of Judge Cercone’s courtroom and threatened with arrest when he refused to remove his turban while defending himself against a traffic citation. Singh has also filed a complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Misconduct about the incident.

Federal Court Strikes Down Discriminatory Anti-Immigrant Law in Hazleton, Pennsylvania (07/26/2007)
HAZLETON, PA – In the first trial decision of its kind, a federal court has declared unconstitutional a local ordinance that sought to punish landlords and employers for doing business with undocumented immigrants. The landmark decision in the closely-watched challenge to Hazleton's anti-immigrant ordinance held that the ordinance cannot be enforced.

ACLU of Virginia Urges County Officials to Reject Anti-Immigrant Ordinance (07/09/2007)
RICHMOND, VA - The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia today asked members of the Prince William Board of Supervisors not to approve a proposed anti-immigrant ordinance that could lead to increased discrimination based on national origin and to the denial of essential, legally required services to undocumented immigrants. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the controversial ordinance at its meeting tomorrow afternoon.

ACLU of New Jersey Challenges Arbitrary Police Fees for March (07/09/2007)
NEWARK - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and the Farmworkers' Support Committee today filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the city of Bridgeton for charging a fee of more than $1,500 for an immigrant rights March held on May 1.

Judge Grants ACLU, MALDEF Request to Block Anti-Immigrant Ordinance in Texas During Duration of Trial (06/19/2007)
FARMERS BRANCH, TX – A federal district court in Texas today sided with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and issued an order that blocks an anti-immigrant ordinance from taking effect in Farmers Branch while a legal challenge continues.

NYCLU Testifies Before United Nations Migrants' Rights Expert on Anti-Immigrant Ordinances (05/15/2007)
NEW YORK - In testimony before the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, the New York Civil Liberties Union expressed concern over the growing movement in towns, cities, and counties across the United States to introduce local anti-immigrant ordinances that attempt to drive out undocumented immigrants and their families, and to punish those who employ or rent to them.

Treatment Of Immigrants In U.S. Violates International Standards, NYCLU And Human Rights Groups Tell U.N. (05/11/2007)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union will join community organizations, immigrant rights groups and officials tomorrow in a public hearing on the occasion of the visit by Jorge Bustamante, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, to the New York area.

Federal Judge Rules Against Policy of Denying Marriage License on Basis of Immigration Status (05/01/2007)
SCRANTON, PA - A federal judge today ruled that a county official cannot deny a marriage license to a couple simply because an applicant does not have a current visa or green card.

Pennsylvania Couple Wrongfully Denied Marriage License Because of Immigration Status, ACLU Charges (04/18/2007)
SCRANTON, PA - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Pennsylvania today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a West Hazleton couple who were denied a marriage license because of a policy that prohibits issuance of a license to anyone who cannot prove that “they are in the country legally.”

Federal Trial Over Hazleton, PA’s Anti-Immigrant Ordinances Concludes (03/22/2007)
SCRANTON, PA - Trial came to an end today in a federal challenge to prevent the city of Hazleton, PA from implementing harsh anti-immigrant ordinances that are at odds with federal law. The two-week trial revealed that Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta and city officials rushed to scapegoat undocumented immigrants for several of the city’s burdens, despite evidence to the contrary.

Trial Begins in Landmark Challenge to Anti-Immigrant Laws in Hazleton, PA (03/12/2007)
SCRANTON, PA - A federal trial began here today in a landmark challenge to local ordinances that seek to punish landlords and employers who do business with undocumented immigrants. Attorneys representing residents and business owners in Hazleton, PA argued that the laws are unconstitutional because they seek to trump federal immigration policy, and would legitimize discrimination against anyone who looks or sounds foreign.