(2019-07-18). Thousands join vigil at Los Angeles detention center. liberationnews.org 
On July 12, members of ANSWER Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation joined thousands of people for a vigil outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Downtown Los Angeles.
(2019-07-18). The Dark Side of the Moon Mission. progressive.org "For that kind of money," Vonnegut cracked on the CBS Evening News, "the least [NASA] can do is discover God." Civil rights activists, anti-Vietnam War protesters and even top scientists were skeptical of the Apollo moon mission at the time.
(2019-07-18). Trump's Anti-Immigrant Policies Are a Voter Suppression Strategy. truthout.org | | Republicans lose when the vote expands. We saw this with the record turnout in the 2018 midterms, and we've seen it in the drop in Republican Party affiliation over time. This is why Republicans are tirelessly devoted to voter ID laws, disenfranchising people caught in the criminal punishment…
(2019-07-18). 4 Sentenced For Murder of Bolivian Government Minister. telesurenglish.net 4 cooperative miners have been handed jail sentences for their involvement in the murder of Bolivian government minister Rodolfo Illanes in 2016. The 4 were part of anti-government protests against a mining law which they say benefited union miners over 'cooperative' ones. | RELATED: | Evo Gives Free Modern Farming Equipment to Bolivian Campesinos | On Thursday, Rene Cochi Trujillo, Silvestre Flores Ruiz, Carlos Castro Manuel y Julián Pinto Condori were each handed 5 y…
(2019-07-18). Why Is Homeownership Among Blacks Lower Than Ever? therealnews.com 
Segregation and housing discrimination are affecting Black homeownership today as much as in the days before the 1964 Civil Rights Act. What happened and how can this be reversed?
(2019-07-18). Jewish Activists of 'Never Again' Action Oppose Immigrant Detention Centers. therealnews.com 
Molly Amster of Jews United for Justice explains why the concentration camp analogy is more than just rhetoric when it comes to Trump's detention camps and policies…
(2019-07-18). The vindictive campaign against Chelsea Manning, America's political prisoner. wsws.org Daily fines placed on Manning for refusing to testify against Julian Assange doubled on Tuesday, threatening the courageous whistleblower with personal bankruptcy. She has been jailed for more than four months.
(2019-07-18). Japanese Americans and allies protest the unjust detention of children at Fort Sill. indybay.org Fort Sill | 2999 N.W. Sheridan Road | Lawton, Oklahoma…
(2019-07-17). "They Didn't Do Their Job": Eric Garner Family Outraged DOJ Won't Prosecute His Death by Police. democracynow.org 
It's been five years since Eric Garner, an African-American father of six, was killed when a white New York City police officer wrestled him to the ground and applied a fatal chokehold, while Garner, who was unarmed, said "I can't breathe" 11 times. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced they will not bring civil rights charges against Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer implicated in Garner's death. The move reportedly came after Attorney General William Barr ordered that the case be dropped. Earlier this year, a medical examiner testified that it was a chokehold that triggered an asthma attack that led to Ga…
(2019-07-17). SPLC sues Trump administration over new rule that makes migrants who pass through other countries ineligible for asylum. splcenter.org The SPLC and its partners filed a lawsuit and an emergency motion this week seeking to block a new Trump administration rule that categorically bars asylum for migrants who cross the southern border without applying for and being denied asylum in any country that they pass through on their way to the U.S.
(2019-07-17). Drug lord 'El Chapo' sentenced to life in US prison. thecanary.co 
Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín " El Chapo" Guzmán has been sentenced to life behind bars in a US prison, a humbling end for a crime lord once notorious for his ability to kill, bribe or tunnel his way out of trouble.A federal judge in Brooklyn handed down the sentence on Wednesday, five months after Guzmán's conviction in an epic drug-trafficking case.The 62-year-old, who had been protected in Mexico by an army of gangsters and an elaborate corruption operation, was taken to the US to stand trial after he twice esc…
(2019-07-17). Five years after Eric Garner's death, no charges will be filed. peoplesworld.org 
The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday, July 16, that it will not pursue federal civil rights charges against Daniel Pantaleo, the New York City police officer who placed Eric Garner in the chokehold that killed him. The decision brings to a close the criminal portion of the case and came just a day prior …
(2019-07-17). The Warden Tried to Cover Up a Crisis at His Freezing Brooklyn Jail — Then He Got Promoted. theintercept.com 
The Bureau of Prisons hasn't released its investigation into what went wrong at the New York jail, but the man in charge just got promoted anyway.
(2019-07-17). Lawyer beat oil giant in court, but now faces jail and millions in fines. thecanary.co From 1964 to 1990, Texaco (later absorbed by Chevron) dumped 16 billion gallons of toxic waste in Ecuador's Amazon. The CIA played a key role in bringing to power the dictatorship that first allowed Texaco to work in Ecuador. Philip Agee, the great whistleblower of that era, descr…
(2019-07-17). Headlines for July 17, 2019. democracynow.org House Votes to Condemn Trump's Racist Tweets, Rep. Al Green Introduces Impeachment Articles, Kellyanne Conway to Reporter Asking About Trump's Racism: "What's Your Ethnicity?", Rights Groups File Lawsuits to Stop Trump's Draconian New Asylum Rule, White Police Officer Who Killed Eric Garner Will Not Face Federal Charges, Ex-Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo Arrested in California over Corruption Scandal, Press Freedom Advocates Call for Release of Yemeni Journalist Yahya al-Sawari, Planned Parenthood Removes President Dr. Leana Wen over Disagreements on Direction of Org., Organizations Say They Will Not Comply…
(2019-07-17). Free the children, close the camps. liberationnews.org 
Trump's racist statements against Mexicans and Central Americans is intended for one purpose: To stir up hatred of immigrants, to mobilize his base and deflect blame away from millionaires and billionaires, who are the real cause of the economic crisis and unemployment.
(2019-07-16). 2020 Hopeful Julián Castro Vows to Break Up ICE & Calls Trump's New Asylum Rule Unconstitutional. democracynow.org 
As Trump faced national rebuke for his racist comments against four progressive congresswomen, his administration announced a new rule essentially banning most immigrants from seeking refuge in the United States. The rule, which the ACLU has already vowed to challenge in court, would deny asylum to any migrant who failed to apply for protection in another country they passed through on the way to the U.S. border—including children traveling alone. If enacted, the law would effectively block people from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, as well as Haitians, Cubans and many people from African countries, who…
(2019-07-16). Migrants Are Fleeing Something Worse. progressive.org Clearly, if the appalling conditions in detention centers are an improvement from what they are fleeing, these migrants have a sufficient basis for seeking asylum in the United States.
(2019-07-16). Headlines for July 16, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Announces Radical Plan to Bar Almost All Migrants from Seeking Asylum at U.S. Border, Squad Rejects Trump's Racist Attacks & Calls for Impeachment as House Plans Resolution to Condemn, Protesters Call for Exit of Puerto Rican Gov. Rosselló After Leaked Text Messages, El Salvador Rape Survivor Being Retried for Homicide for Having Stillbirth, U.N. Report Accuses Venezuela's Special Forces of 1000s of Extrajudicial Killings, Workers and Activists Protest Amazon, Calling for an End to Labor Abuses, Collaboration with ICE, Washington Activist Protesting Immigrant Detention Shot Dead, Historian and Civil Rights…
(2019-07-15). How Some Florida Prosecutors Are Pushing Back Against GOP Voter Suppression Efforts. theintercept.com 
The GOP legislature is trying to take the vote away from people with past legal woes — and some prosecutors are looking for ways around a new restriction.
(2019-07-15). Hundreds join united action in Palo Alto, Calif., to shut down Palantir Technologies for complicity with ICE. liberationnews.org 
In a great show of unity in action, more than a dozen groups from all over the San Francisco Bay Area joined together July 19 to protest at Palantir Technologies in Palo Alto for the company's provision of software facilitating ICE raids, detentions and deportations.
(2019-07-15). Author of 'Emanuel Nine' church massacre book to speak at Civil Rights Memorial Center. splcenter.org As the prosecution made its closing argument, photos of the nine people that Dylann Roof had shot to death in a Charleston, South Carolina, church appeared on the screen in bloody, gruesome detail.
(2019-07-15). Cruelty Is the Point: Communities Fight Back as Threat of ICE Raids Terrorize Immigrant Families. democracynow.org 
This weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched a handful of raids across the country as part of President Trump's push to detain and deport thousands of undocumented migrants in 10 major cities. Agents in Chicago reportedly arrested a mother and her children only to quickly release them. Arrests were also attempted in New York City, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and Harlem, where immigrants reportedly refused to open their doors to ICE agents because they did not have warrants. Authorities say more raids are planned this week, prompting fear but also generating mass protests on the ground. We speak…
(2019-07-14). Activists in Oshkosh, WI call for closure of Trump's concentration camps. fightbacknews.org Oshkosh, WI – On the evening of July 12, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Students for a Democratic Society (UWO SDS) hosted a Lights for Liberty rally, demanding an end to the Trump administration's detention policy and the closure of the concentration camps, where tens of thousands of immigrants are being held in clear breach of international law. The call to action drew roughly 30 people from Oshkosh and the surrounding Fox Valley area. | The event started with a silent candlelight vigil to help bring awareness to the disastrous conditions in the camps. The action featured 12 different people speaking…
(2019-07-12). Pompeo's New "Human Rights" Commission is Up To No Good. aclu.org The Trump administration appears to be trying to find new moral footing for the president's discriminatory policies. | This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally announced the creation of a "Commission on Unalienable Rights." Its stated purpose, according to a notice published in the Federal Register in May, is to provide "fresh thinking about human rights discourse where such discourse has departed from our nation's founding principles of natural law and natural rights." | Th…
(2019-07-11). "Unconscionable & Unacceptable": Rep. Barragán Decries Detention of Migrant Children in Prison Cells. democracynow.org 
Yazmin Juárez, the Guatemalan mother whose child died from a lung infection after being held in an ICE detention center, testified before members of a congressional panel Wednesday. She shared the story of her daughter, 19-month-old Mariee, who died last year shortly after being released from the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas. Juárez filed a $60 million lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Health and Human Services. The House subcommittee convened to examine the treatment of refugees in U.S.
(2019-07-11). The U.S. Women's Soccer World Cup Win Was a Victory for Title IX & the Fight for Equal Pay. democracynow.org 
Thousands gathered in Manhattan Wednesday to celebrate the U.S. women's national soccer team's fourth World Cup championship at a ticker tape parade that stretched up Broadway and past Wall Street. Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle and their teammates rode floats through New York City's Canyon of Heroes, ending their celebrations at a ceremony at City Hall. Supporters chanted "U.S.A.!" and "Equal pay!" The U.S women's World Cup victory came just months after members of the 2015 women's team sued the U.S. Soccer Federation over gender discrimination. Their high-profile fight for pay equity is focusing the s…
(2019-07-11). Manuel Duran, journalist who reported on ICE, freed from detention. splcenter.org Manuel Duran, an investigative journalist who was detained after reporting on the collusion between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee, was released today from ICE detention and will be reunited with his fiancée.
(2019-07-11). CBP Can't Detain Domestic Flight Passengers for Refusing Suspicionless ID Checks. aclu.org 
The Constitution protects passengers deplaning domestic flights just as it protects people on the street or in a car. | In February 2017, two U.S. CBP officers stood on a jet bridge at New York's JFK Airport to meet Delta Flight 1583 as it taxied to the gate upon arrival from San Francisco. As passengers prepared to deplane, they were told by flight attendants — at the direction of the two officers — that all passengers would have to show identification documents to the officer…
(2019-07-10). The Inhumane Treatment of Migrants Is Not New. It's a Key Part of a Decades-Old Bipartisan Policy. democracynow.org 
More than a week after lawmakers flocked to the U.S.-Mexico border to observe the horrible treatment of refugee children and families in immigration jails, reports of unsafe and unsanitary conditions for asylum seekers are continuing. In Clint, Texas, the Border Patrol station that garnered international attention for jailing hundreds of migrant children without access to sufficient food, water, beds or medical care now has a spreading outbreak of scabies, shingles and chickenpox, according to border agents. In Yuma, Arizona, NBC reports that jailed migrant children have been subjected to mistreatment and sexual…
(2019-07-07). 'Horrified at the sights': Coloradans protest ICE facilities and detention profiteers. liberationnews.org 
Human rights abuses are not just restricted to the border.
(2019-07-03). Japanese Internment Camp Survivor: 'Never Again Is NOW!'. progressive.org A filmmaker and therapist tells of her family's internment in a maximum security camp during World War II, and her views on the current imprisonment of people from south of the border.
(2019-07-03). I Spent 16 Months in Solitary Confinement and Now I'm Fighting to End It. aclu.org A new report proves that the degrading conditions in solitary confinement continue to harm people and communities. | I was just 17 years old when I was sent to solitary confinement in "Camp J," one of the most severe lockdown units at one of America's most brutal prisons, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. I languished in solitary for 16 months. | Back then I didn't know that Louisiana was the solitary confinement capital of the world. All I knew was that I'd been convicted of a crime I didn't commit, and I had to maintain my humanity in one of the most dehumanizing places on earth. | It's called "23 and…
(2019-07-03). Thousands of Voices Are Telling the Supreme Court: Don't Roll Back LGBTQ Rights. aclu.org Businesses, women CEOs, civil rights organizations, Republicans tell the Supreme Court to protect LGBTQ employees like Aimee Stephens and Don Zarda. | President Trump has told the Supreme Court it should be legal to fire someone just because they're LGBTQ. The President may be a bully, but he's just one voice. Today, more than 2,000 voices from across the country joined together to tell the Supreme Court: Don't roll back our rights. | The message came in the form of friend-of-the-court briefs—nearly 50 in all—filed in a…
(2019-07-02). SPLC sues Florida officials to keep citizens from losing right to vote again. splcenter.org After completing her prison sentence and probation time, Rosemary McCoy had her voting rights restored and cast a ballot in the Jacksonville, Florida, runoff city council election earlier this year.
(2019-06-29). Smart Ass Cripple: Happy Birthday Olmstead. progressive.org Twenty years ago, a civil rights victory helped disabled people escape institutional life.
(2019-06-28). Working in Prison, I Witnessed the Inhumane Conditions of Solitary for Incarcerated Women. aclu.org Solitary confinement can amount to torture. One practitioner witnessed this first hand, and shares her story and her journey to action. | At the first checkpoint at Tennessee Prison for Women, there was a large, scrolling television screen behind the desk displaying the image of two pairs of hands — one pair with a key and one pair in handcuffs. The message read, "You can either be one of us or one of them." I had been working in the facility for less than a year, but this message exemplified an uneasiness I had long felt without articulating: The prison's faàßade of "rehabilitation" masked a system s…
(2019-06-28). Why the ACLU Is Suing Florida For Its New Poll Tax. aclu.org The law forces returning citizens with criminal records to pay for the right to vote. | On November 6, 2018, nearly 65 percent of Florida voters—more than 5 million people—resoundingly approved Amendment 4, restoring voting rights to over a million of their fellow citizens. By passing Amendment 4, Floridians successfully ushered in the largest expansion of the electorate in nearly 50 years. The people of Florida did it on their own, using a constitutional ballot initiative, to finally achieve change where Florida politicians had failed. | Instead of celebrating this progress, Florida politicians are t…
(2019-06-28). Georgia Tried to Ban Abortion, So We Sued. aclu.org Abortion bans place people in danger, and Georgia's is no exception. | Alabama. Arkansas. Kentucky. Ohio. And today, Georgia. That's the list of states where the ACLU has had to go to court over the last few months to challenge laws banning abortion. | The Georgia law bans abortion at six weeks of pregnancy and is in clear violation of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. In fact, that is the whole point of the law. Georgia politicians, including Governor Brian Kemp, emboldened by President Trump's appointment of two new justices to the Supreme Court, think this is their chance to get the court to take aw…
(2019-06-28). How to Help Families at the Border Right Now. aclu.org We know that a better future is possible, and we at the ACLU, along with our supporters and allies, are daring to create it. | The images of Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter Valeria, who lost their lives trying to seek refuge in the United States, have left us haunted. They serve as an ever-important reminder of the urgency of the fight for immigrant justice on our southern border and the need to stand up to the Trump administration's policies denying humanitarian protection and basic due process to families fleeing for their lives. | We remain at the frontlines of the family separation fight…
(2019-06-28). Charlottesville Federal Court Sentences James Alex Fields to Life in Prison for 'Unite the Right' Killing. splcenter.org A neo-Nazi sympathizer from Ohio received two consecutive and 27 concurrent life sentences in federal prison for killing a counterprotester and injuring others in the aftermath of 2017's racist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
(2019-06-28). SPLC: Sentencing of James Alex Fields Jr., who killed Heather Heyer at 'Unite the Right,' will not heal victims or their families. splcenter.org James Alex Fields Jr., who was sentenced to life in prison today for murdering a woman who was protesting a white supremacist rally two years ago, is a remorseless killer and a domestic terrorist.
(2019-06-24). UN Human Rights Head Visits Venezuela, Meets Maduro and Guaido. venezuelanalysis.com Michelle Bachelet commented on access to food and medicine, allegations of political prisoners, and the impact of sanctions, among other issues.
(2019-06-21). Brian Mier on Brazilian Political Scandal. fair.org 
The Brazilian anti-corruption crusade, called Car Wash or Lava Jato, that put popular ex-president Lula da Silva in prison and paved the way for fascist president Jair Bolsanaro—all while being celebrated in the US corporate press—was actually, as critics contended, less interested in corruption than in keeping Lula's Workers Party out of power.