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Lawsuit Challenging Denial Of Bail Rights For Immigrants Can Continue, Says Federal Court (12/10/2008)
PHOENIX – A federal court ruled that a civil rights coalition can continue to challenge an Arizona state law that bars judges from considering bail for criminal defendants suspected of being undocumented immigrants. Defendants, which include Maricopa County, had asked the court to dismiss the case but the ruling permits the litigation to proceed. The court also granted the lawsuit class action status.

Federal Court Of Appeals Hears Arguments On Hazleton Anti-Immigrant Law (10/30/2008)
PHILADELPHIA – The American Civil Liberties Union argued in an appellate court today that it should uphold the landmark July 2007 ruling by a federal court in Pennsylvania that declared the city of Hazleton's anti-immigrant law unconstitutional. Hazleton's law would punish landlords and employers who are accused of renting to or hiring anyone the city classifies as an "illegal alien."

Farmers Branch, Texas Anti-Immigrant Ordinance Is Blocked While Challenge Continues (09/22/2008)
DALLAS – City officials in Farmers Branch, Texas today agreed not to fight a request from residents to block the city's latest anti-immigrant ordinance from taking effect while a legal challenge continues. The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) filed a request in federal court on the residents' behalf for a preliminary injunction blocking the ordinance. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas is expected to enter the injunction today.

Appellate Court Declines to Overturn Arizona Employer Sanctions Law (09/17/2008)

ACLU And MALDEF File Lawsuit To Stop Farmers Branch Newest Anti-Immigrant Ordinance (09/15/2008)
DALLAS – Friday, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas filed a complaint in federal court charging that Farmers Branch Ordinance 2952 violates the U.S. Constitution and federal and state statutes. The ordinance, which requires all renters in Farmers Branch to register their presence with the City and obtain an occupancy license, is the city's third effort to restrict residency in Farmers Branch.

Court Blocks Local Arizona Anti-Solicitation Law (08/08/2008)
PHOENIX – The U.S District Court in Phoenix today blocked the town of Cave Creek, Arizona from enforcing an anti-solicitation ordinance that infringes on the free speech rights of day laborers in that town. The order ensures that day laborers will be able to exercise their constitutional rights by expressing their availability to work in public areas.

ACLU Obtains Government "Manual" For Prepackaged Guilty Pleas For Prosecution Of Immigrant Workers In Postville, Iowa (07/31/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union obtained a government "manual" distributed to defense lawyers assigned to represent immigrant workers arrested and prosecuted in last May's Postville, Iowa meatpacking raids. The document – posted on the ACLU Web site today – contains prepackaged scripts for plea and sentencing hearings as well as documents providing for guilty pleas and waivers of rights that were used to push the more than 300 Postville workers through mass criminal proceedings as quickly as possible.

Civil Rights Groups Urge Appellate Court To Overturn Arizona Employer Sanctions Law (06/12/2008)

El tribunal suspende ley local que prohíbe solicitar empleo en Arizona (06/02/2008)

Court Blocks Local Arizona Anti-Solicitation Law (06/02/2008)
PHOENIX - The U.S District Court in Phoenix issued a preliminary order today stopping the town of Cave Creek, Arizona from enforcing an anti-solicitation ordinance that infringes on the free speech rights of day laborers in that town. Pending a final ruling in the case, the order ensures that day laborers will be able to exercise their constitutional rights by expressing their availability to work by standing in public areas without fear of being cited under the ordinance.

MALDEF, ACLU and Otero County Sheriff's Department Resolve Civil Rights Suit (04/09/2008)
LAS CRUCES, NM - MALDEF and the ACLU of New Mexico today announced a landmark settlement with the Otero County Sheriff's Department that addresses what plaintiffs alleged were civil rights violations committed by county deputies during immigration sweeps last September in the southern New Mexico town of Chaparral. Civil rights advocates say the agreement will help restore community trust in local law enforcement and greatly improve the safety of all people living in the County.

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.