News & Commentary

For two weeks, we’ve heard trial testimony and seen evidence of the events that occurred on August 25, 2020 — the night that Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two people and injured another during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. While Rittenhouse was not held accountable, he was not the only one whose conduct on that deadly night should be scrutinized. The actions — and inaction — of the Kenosha Police Department and the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department in the preceding 72 hours played a critical part in the tragic events that took place. A

Learning about dynamics of race and gender is an integral part of any student’s education and necessary to understand U.S. history. But instead of fostering an open and honest dialogue, a handful of states — including Texas, Tennessee, Idaho, and Oklahoma, among others — are passing censorship bills that ban conversations about race and gender in public schools. These bills chill students’ and educators’ First Amendment right to learn and talk about the issues that impact their everyday lives. They further marginalize communities, create an unsafe learning environment, and shortchange students of their right to receive an inclusive education, free from censorship or discrimination.An

A prison sentence should not mean people lose fundamental human rights such as access to health care or humane conditions of confinement. In Arizona, after almost a decade of broken promises, the ACLU, the Prison Law Office, and their co-counsel are in court proving that state prison officials continue to disregard their constitutional obligations to incarcerated people. I

In 1956, the Eisenhower administration launched the multibillion-dollar Interstate Highway System, creating a transportation network that indisputably paved the way for immense economic growth. But it also exacted a devastating cost: The new highways were often routed through older, thriving communities, displacing more than 1 million Americans – the vast majority of whom were Black and low-income. In some cities, they cut off Black neighborhoods from quality jobs, schools and housing, solidifying racial and economic segregation. The impact of this disruption is still felt today. N

The state of Alabama recently adopted new congressional and state legislative districts as the result of its once-in-a-decade redistricting process. These new maps are unconstitutional and grossly gerrymandered in a way that harms Black Alabamians, communities of color, and all Alabamians who care about fair representation. That’s why the ACLU and our partners filed two federal lawsuits today challenging Alabama’s newly drawn state legislative and congressional districts. R

Every day, ICE locks up over 20,000 people in a sprawling nationwide network of more than 200 detention facilities. The ACLU believes that this system of mass incarceration of immigrants should be dismantled — it’s unnecessary and inhumane. For as long as ICE maintains its detention network, though, it has a responsibility to create an oversight system that is actually effective at detecting, addressing, and deterring abuse of detained people. Our analysis of recent ICE inspection documents shows that ICE’s inspection system remains ineffective at identifying violations by detention facilities and ensuring compliance with detention standards, allowing facilities with clear records of poor conditions, including some of the deadliest facilities, such as the Stewart Detention Facility in Georgia, to evade accountability. V

Two cases being heard today by the Michigan Supreme Court deserve close attention because of the widespread impact their outcomes could have on policing, the right to privacy, and the ever-expanding technological capability of law enforcement to collect, store, and use our personal data. The cases also highlight an issue that has plagued America for as long as police have existed: Black people being disproportionately stopped and searched by authorities with badges and guns, creating a climate of fear, instilling trauma, and poisoning relationships between law enforcement and the communities they are sworn to protect. T

In 2012, José Vaello-Madero, a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico but living in New York, applied for and received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits because severe health problems left him unable to support himself. A year later, he moved to Puerto Rico to rejoin his family and care for his ailing wife. He continued to receive SSI benefits, unaware that federal law excludes Puerto Rico residents from the program, simply because they live in a U.S. territory rather than a state. In 2016, the federal government sued Vaello-Madero to collect over $28,000 it claimed it “overpaid.” On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear his case in United States v Vaello-Madero, a case that could help put an end to unconstitutional discrimination against residents of Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. S

Texas plans to execute John H. Ramirez, but state officials are not satisfied with merely taking his life. They are also intent on denying him the right to practice his faith when it matters most—in his final moments. Mr. Ramirez, a Christian, has asked that his longtime pastor be able to touch him and pray aloud over him as he dies. When the state refused this modest religious accommodation, the Supreme Court stepped in, delaying the execution and agreeing to hear Mr. Ramirez’s case. Oral argument is set for November 9. I