State Assembly votes to restore voting rights to nearly 50,000 Californians on parole The California State Assembly passed Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 6, which would restore voting rights to nearly 50,000 Californians on parole. ACA 6, authored by Asm. Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), passed with a 54-16 vote. ACA 6 will next go through the California State Senate, where it will need a 2/3 majority to…
Today is Constitution Day. Thousands of middle and high school students across San Diego County will better understand the wisdom, complexity and enduring relevance of the United States Constitution thanks to a special ACLU program pairing volunteer speakers with host teachers in celebration of Constitution Day. Since 2007, the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties (ACLU-SDIC) has recruited attorneys, civic leaders, community advocates and others…
The American Civil Liberties Union released a report today that shows fear of deportation is stopping immigrants from reporting crimes and participating in court proceedings. The report, “Freezing Out Justice: How Immigration Arrests at Courthouses Are Undermining the Justice System,” is based on data from a national survey of law enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors, and others, conducted jointly by the ACLU and the National Immigrant…
Deported U.S. Army veteran Hector Barajas, who has been living in Mexico the last eight years, today received word from the Department of Homeland Security on March 29 that he was being granted U.S. citizenship. He is scheduled to be sworn in as a citizen in a few weeks in San Diego. Barajas, a decorated vet who received an honorable discharge after serving nearly six…
While much of the local media’s attention was focused on President Trump’s March 13 visit to the border wall prototypes in Otay Mesa, a team of ICE agents deployed throughout Escondido early the same morning and arrested 22 people. The agents were allegedly targeting people who had deportation orders, but they also picked up undocumented immigrants who just happened to be at the wrong place…
DREAM Act opponent, and the nation’s shakiest incumbent, embattled Rep. Darrell Issa (R-49th Congressional District got served in his own neighborhood by an organized protest Saturday, Dec. 2. Protestors showed up at 1 p.m. at Luz Duran Park, 340 Townsite Drive in Vista, then deployed to post lawn signs, talk with community members, and distribute voter education materials. The rally began at 3 p.m. attracting…
Judge ends legal fight against Mt. Soledad Cross Denying a discovery-related motion, a federal judge has put to rest once and for all a decades-long legal battle over the display of a 43-foot-tall Latin cross that will remain at the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego. In what U.S. District Judge John D. Bates called a “last gasp,” Republican U.S. Reps. Darrell Issa, Brian…
Attempts to restrict peaceful protests outside the district office of embattled Rep. Darrell Issa (R-49th District) have failed. The City of Vista Wednesday, June 28 issued a three-month permit this week allowing the rallies to continue. The weekly protests, launched as Resist Trump Tuesdays after the January inauguration, have become the largest and longest-running congressional rallies in the nation, regularly drawing 300–to- 800 citizens. Following a July…
It’s time for Congressman Darrell Issa to come down from the roof and support the First Amendment. Our First Amendment freedoms ensure that anger and political disagreement don’t fester into violence. — Edward Sifuentes On May 30, Rep. Darrell Issa’s San Diego County constituents saw a different side of the nine-term member of Congress. Angry at peaceful protesters outside his district office building in Vista,…
“Nothing is more American than political protest. We’ve worked cooperatively with the city of Vista and law enforcement, but we will not back down from defending the First Amendment. I am very happy that the ACLU has taken this case on behalf of me, and on behalf of constituents in California District 49, who have the right to freedom of speech.” — Ellen Montanari, Indivisible…