Grand Rapids Police Department Called ICE on Jilmar Ramos-Gomez, and ICE Sought to Deport Him, Even Though He Had His U.S. Passport and Military ID
MEDIA ...
MEDIA CONTACT: Ann Mullen, 313-400-8562, amullen@aclumich.org
WHAT:
Attorneys from the ACLU of Michigan and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC)...
The ACLU of Michigan today released “Blueprint for Smart Justice: Michigan,” a new report that outlines how the state can cut its prison population by more...
The United States is the only country in the world that sentences juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This inhumane practice is...
DETROIT, Mich. – U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith ruled today that it is unconstitutional to strip children, who had been serving life sentences, of credits...
In 2014 the ACLU of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit against the FBI for stigmatizing all fans of a popular hip hop and rap group as a “gang.” Dedicated fans...
Decision Means State Legislature Must Repair Failed Registry
WASHINGTON D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it will not hear the State of...
NOTICE ABOUT FOOD LOST DUE TO POWER OUTAGES: If you lost food purchased with back benefits you received from this lawsuit, you must file a claim with DHHS...
CINCINNATI—A federal appeals court unanimously declared today that portions of the Michigan sex offender registry are unconstitutional because they effectively...
DETROIT—Concerned about the increased potential for violent confrontations and racial profiling, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan in a letter...
BATON ROUGE — Details surrounding the shooting last night of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, continue to emerge. In reaction, ACLU of Louisiana...
LANSING—In a severe blow to the illegal “pay-or-stay” sentencing practices being challenged by the ACLU of Michigan and other groups, the state Supreme Court...
DETROIT — Striking a major blow against unconstitutional “pay or stay” sentencing practices, the Macomb County Circuit Court entered a final order yesterday...
LANSING--The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today announced the launch of a new project aimed at reducing the state’s incarceration rate, which is...
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. detested violence. Nevertheless, during the month when we commemorate his birth, we must face the fact that black males between the...
DETROIT--As Detroit civil-rights activists prepare to protest the recent fatal shooting of an unarmed Detroit man by a Dearborn police officer, the ACLU of...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is lauding a state Supreme Court proposal that could end unconstitutional "pay-or-stay" sentencing practices in...
ACLU at the Michigan Capitol – November 2, 2015
Bipartisanship is flourishing lately. Not so much among our elected officials – unsurprising given that...
The ACLU of Michigan has been working to abolish modern-day debtors’ prisons for the past seven years. As part of this work, I have observed courts and...
FOR IMMEDIATE USE
October 30, 2015
CONTACT: Darrell Dawsey, ACLU of Michigan, 313-578-6831; ddawsey@aclumich.org
DETROIT—As part of the ACLU of Michigan’...
While the practice of criminal forfeiture is widely accepted as legitimate, civil forfeiture has proven to be far more troublesome as a threat to our freedom....
David Stojcevski died, gasping for breath, naked on the cement floor of his cell at the Macomb County Jail, while his jailors watched the life ebb out of him...
DETROIT—Concerned over potential civil-rights violations in the grisly death of Macomb County Jail inmate David Stojcevski, the ACLU of Michigan in a letter...
At a highly publicized press conference last month, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy (pictured above) cleared federal immigration agent Mitchell Quinn in the...
Concerned that indigent defendants in the Detroit suburb of Eastpointe are being tossed into “debtors’ prison” for their inability to pay court fees and fines...
In the wake of two recent attacks against transgender women in Detroit, the ACLU of Michigan is again calling on legislators to update state civil-rights...
When marchers take to the streets on Friday for a mass walk from Detroit to Flint to call for better access to clean water, the ACLU of Michigan heaquarters in...
The Detroit City Council decided that youth in metro Detroit do have constitutional rights worth respecting after all—at least to some degree.
After hearing...
Michael Reynolds is a 17-year-old Detroiter, a recent graduate of Detroit Loyola High School and an impending freshman at Western Michigan University.
Later...
Reflecting deepening concern over the controversial shooting death of 20-year-old Terrance Kellom by a federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent...
Kary Moss, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, gave the following statement in reaction to the shooting death of 20-year-old...
It’s almost four years from the day I was forced off an airplane in Detroit, held for hours in a cell, strip-searched, and interrogated without explanation....
Special-education students in Michigan are being pushed out of public schools at an alarming rate—with far too many of them being driven directly in the school...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today that it has been awarded a grant of $100,000 by the JEHT Foundation to form the Juvenile Life...
College students Chris Waechter and Gabe Novak were told by Saugatuck police officers and other city officials that they were prohibited from playing music, or...
Barbara Hernandez was only 16 years old when she was tried as an adult and convicted of murder after her abusive boyfriend killed a man.
Barbara entered...
Jacques: Michigan Laws Make Criminals of Us All (Detroit News)
Because of Michigan's extensive penal code, however, many everyday activities can cross over...
The Supreme Court ruled decades ago that it is unconstitutional to jail a person for failure to pay a debt that she or he cannot afford. However, the ACLU of...
In recent months, it seems like a classic black American nightmare has been put on a feedback loop.
With every acquittal of an accused killer cop, with every...
The grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., has declined to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson on charges in the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown.
The...
The ire of those who condemn the crowds that are burning Ferguson is misdirected.
The accusing finger must instead be pointed directly at a criminal justice...
Civil liberties fans and supporters are spread out all over Michigan. Many parts even have a volunteer-led branch that acts as a watchdog for civil liberties...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan testified today before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) about the failure of the U.S....
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, along with the music duo Insane Clown Posse (ICP), appealed a federal judge’s order dismissing the Juggalos’...
When the rights of one group are threatened by government intrusion, all our rights are in peril.
Freedom in America is, and always has been the...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reconsider its decision to not prosecute the Saginaw police...
In an Alice in Wonderland turn of events, the U.S. Department of Justice has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to criminally charge six Saginaw...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan calls on Governor Rick Snyder to veto legislation passed today by the Michigan Legislature that fails to provide...
A federal judge today ordered that all Michigan prisoners who are serving life sentences for crimes committed while children must be provided a “fair,...
A federal judge ruled today that claims against a Wayne County Family Court judge could proceed in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to expand its current investigation of the Saginaw Police Department...
In difficult economic times, one would hope that the government would take measures to assist the poor and homeless. In Grand Rapids, however, the ACLU of...
Public schools charging fees for classes? Police taking innocent people’s cars? Law enforcement detaining people for years without a trial? What’s going on?...
So, you are walking down the block when you see a police officer arresting someone and pull out your phone to take a video of the scene. There’s nothing wrong...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan applauds the Michigan Legislature today for passing necessary legislation to correct the state’s broken system...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan sent a letter to the Detroit Police Department and filed a complaint with the United States Department of...
Lansing –The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that a class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union seeking to fix Michigan’s system...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and affiliates in 22 other states simultaneously filed 255 public records requests today to determine the extent...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today urged law enforcement agencies in Michigan to adopt uniform policies that regulate the use of tasers to...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and University of Michigan Innocence Clinic is pleased that the Michigan Supreme Court ordered a new trial...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan applauded a state appeals court decision today declaring the City of Wyoming’s ordinance that bans medical...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan lauded a report released today by the Governor’s Indigent Defense Advisory Commission that outlines...
In a victory for medical marijuana patients throughout the state, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that the Court of Appeals had wrongly...
Today, advocates, clergy and family members of individuals sentenced to juvenile life without parole for crimes they committed as children joined Second...
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- In a letter today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan urged the Michigan State Police (MSP) to investigate a racial...
An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan asked a federal judge today to strike down a state law that criminalizes peaceful panhandling in...
In a friend of the court brief submitted today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, along with the Ottawa County Bar Association and Criminal...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan welcomes Governor Rick Snyder’s executive order establishing a commission to improve Michigan’s system for...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic asked the state’s Supreme Court today to overturn the felony...
Joseph Casias has battled sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor for more than a decade. His condition has required extensive treatment and chemotherapy,...
Our justice system should be a place where freedom has no price and equality prevails. Sometimes reality falls short of these lofty goals, and it's often the...
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan said today that they are challenging “pay or stay” sentences imposed on five persons across the...
Detroit – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center sent letters to all Michigan jails today clarifying the...
In a decision issued today, a federal judge has allowed a lawsuit challenging Michigan’s juvenile life without parole sentences to proceed. Today’s ruling...
In an order announced today, the Michigan Supreme Court agreed to review the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan’s appeal in the case of a registered...
Benton Harbor, Mich. – In a settlement finalized today, a Lake Michigan College student who was expelled because he is listed on the sex offender registry will...
Detroit – 13 people. 13 stories. 13 tragic, expensive and preventable examples of Michigan’s failing public defense systems.
Today, at news conferences in...
Detroit – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan commended Royal Oak officials for repealing an unconstitutional ordinance that punished peaceful...
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan were in federal court today for arguments in a lawsuit on behalf of nine Michigan individuals who...
In this week's Rights Review, we're standing against Arizona-style racial profiling in Michigan. Also, good news for teen lovers, Bigfoot, and the 2,000 people...
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A group of more than 60 concerned parents, educators and community leaders, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, sent a...
Royal Oak, Mich. – In a letter today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan urged Royal Oak officials to stop enforcing an unconstitutional ordinance...
Two hundred and nineteen years ago today, the United States ratified the Bill of Rights, protecting the freedoms and liberties of individuals from government...
Detroit – The American Civil Liberties Union applauded a Michigan Supreme Court decision today allowing its lawsuit to proceed that seeks to fix Michigan’s...
New York – Poor defendants are being jailed at increasingly alarming rates for failing to pay legal debts they can never hope to afford, according to two...
Detroit – The American Civil Liberties Union slammed a Michigan Supreme Court decision today dismissing a lawsuit seeking to fix Michigan’s system for...
DETROIT – A Macomb County Circuit Court judge dismissed a bioterrorism charge late Wednesday against an HIV-positive man accused of biting his neighbor. The...
Detroit – In a landmark decision today, the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for juvenile offenders who did not commit homicide to be sentenced...
Lansing – In an order issued today, the Michigan Supreme Court unanimously rejected the State of Michigan’s attempts to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the American...
Ann Arbor, MI — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is gravely concerned by plans to evict about 20 residents of the local homeless encampment Camp...
Detroit – A bioterrorism charge against an HIV-positive man accused of biting his neighbor should be dropped, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan...
Lansing, Mich. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the Michigan Innocence Clinic asked an appeals court today to overturn the felony...
Detroit – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the Detroit Police Department's 2008 raid of the...
Ann Arbor, Mich. – In a friend of the court brief filed today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan urged the 15th District Court in Ann Arbor to...
In a letter to Wal-Mart Stores today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan expressed concern over reports that applicants at Wal-Mart’s new store in...
Lansing – In an order entered Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court agreed to hear the state’s appeal in a class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil...
Michigan’s successful efforts to reduce its statewide prison population by more than eight percent during the past two years while at the same time improving...
DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan applauded a unanimous Michigan Court of Appeals decision today upholding the free speech rights of a...
DETROIT — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, with the support of a diverse group of religious, ethnic and domestic violence organizations,...
This 73-page publication discusses the disproportionate impact of school discipline policies, suspensions and expulsion on African American students.
In oral arguments today, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the Michigan Appeals Court to allow it to proceed with a class action lawsuit that seeks to...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan applauded the State House of Representatives today for passing a package of bills (HB 4402 –HB 4405) that would...
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has agreed to represent a Benton Harbor minister who was sentenced to 3-10 years in prison for writing...
Today, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security is scheduled to hold a hearing on a bill that would help end the practice of...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today marked the 45th anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright by calling on...
A federal jury today found the Saginaw County Jail responsible for the egregious and unconstitutional treatment of detainees and awarded 4 plaintiffs $145,000...
At a hearing today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan along with the Michigan Catholic Conference and dozens of juvenile justice supporters urged...
The Michigan House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. to address a package of bills (HB4402 –HB4405) that would prohibit the...
DETROIT – In honor of International Human Rights Day, the national American Civil Liberties Union released a report today about the pervasive institutionalized...
Detroit — A federal judge in Detroit ruled today that the constitutional rights a Catholic man were violated when he was sent to jail for asking a drug court...
This 66-page packet condemns sentencing minors to life without the possibility of parole through extensive research. Seeking to resolve this injustice, the...
Lansing — An Ingham County Circuit Court Judge ruled today that a lawsuit against the State of Michigan for failing to fulfill its constitutional obligation to...
Lansing, MI – The Michigan Coalition for Justice (MCJ) filed a lawsuit today against the State of Michigan and Governor Jennifer Granholm for failing to...
The American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project and two Ann Arbor civil rights attorneys, Patricia Streeter and Michael Barnhart, today lauded a...
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan today urged a federal appeals court to uphold a lower court ruling declaring the...
Detroit — Today, a Genesee Circuit Court judge reversed a district court decision and ruled that Flint Police violated the constitutional rights of 94 men and...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the National Lawyers Guild announced today that they have reached a settlement with the City of Ferndale to...
Detroit — The Michigan Public Service Commission in Lansing will hear oral arguments tomorrow on the phone companies’ request to dismiss the American Civil...
Detroit — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today that the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that a Kent County judge defied the U.S....
DETROIT-- In a letter today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan urged Clawson city officials to amend their political sign ordinance to protect...
The American Civil Liberties Union and over forty other non-governmental organizations appeared today to monitor testimony delivered by the United States...
The national American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan today filed a petition urging the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to rule that...
Detroit — In a move reserved for extraordinary cases, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today filed a class action in the Michigan Court of...
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is appealing to the Michigan Supreme Court on behalf of a divorced man whose overnight visitation with...
DETROIT – After exhausting all avenues in the Michigan courts, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today that it has filed a federal...
One year after the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan released their report, “Second Chances,” which calls attention to the over 300 juveniles living...
Less than a week after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against top U.S. officials demanding the release of a long-time U.S. resident, the...
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today in Washington, D.C. against top U.S. officials demanding the release of a legal permanent resident of...
DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and Legal Aid of Western Michigan (LAWM) are hailing an agreement with the Michigan State Police (MSP...
Detroit — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that the Michigan law denying legal representation to poor people in a criminal appeal is unconstitutional. The...
DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan expressed great concern and opposition today to news that Attorney General Mike Cox is pushing for...
Detroit — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is hopeful that the Supreme Court will strike down a Michigan law denying legal representation to...
DETROIT -- The Roseville artist who has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for painting a mural on the side of an office building will be staying at home as the...
Detroit — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today that it will join in three lawsuits that have been filed against the Saginaw County...
Detroit — The ACLU of Michigan announced today that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a second constitutional challenge to a Michigan law - Halbert v....
DETROIT – In a case of national importance, the Supreme Court will hear arguments from the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today that a state law is...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan released a report today to call attention to the growing number of juveniles living out life sentences in...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan spoke out against a newly proposed constitutional amendment to reinstate the death penalty in Michigan debated...
YOUR ACTION NEEDED TODAY!!!
FLOOR VOTE EXPECTED ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AMENDMENT
HEARING ON DEATH PENALTY IN HOUSE COMMITTEE
After much on-again/off-again...
DETROIT – In a victory for women prisoners, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today that a tentative settlement agreement was reached in...
This 32-page publication chronicles the issue of sentencing children to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) in Michigan.
DETROIT – In a precedent-setting settlement, the Ypsilanti Housing Commission (YHC) has agreed to end a policy that led to the eviction of domestic violence...
DETROIT - An 82-year-old farmer who complained to the Michigan Department of Agriculture by voice-mail over its failure to stop a nearby agribusiness from...
In a lawsuit that may impact thousands of Michigan citizens, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is charging that Michigan prison officials and the...
Detroit - A federal judge ruled today that an immigration court did violate the due process of Rabih Haddad when closing a portion of his bond hearing last...
In a unanimous decision today, a federal appeals court struck down the government's blanket policy of conducting secret deportation hearings inpost-9/11 cases...
The ACLU of Michigan and National Lawyer's Guild today filed a motion to dismiss charges levied against 13 protesters for wearing Lone Ranger masks during a...
Today the ACLU of Michigan filed a federal class action lawsuit challenging the treatment of women prisoners at the Livingston County jail. Significantly, the...
Detroit – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and Western Michigan Legal Services (WMLS) sent a letter today to the state Attorney General’s Office...
Representing Michigan prisoners, the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project filed objections to MDOC’s legal mail policy that was revised...
Detroit — After hearing the plight of an artist sentenced to jail for painting a mural on the side of an office building, the American Civil Liberties Union of...
On March 24, 2003, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published a final rule without public comment that exempts the FBI's National Crime Information Center...
This 8-page booklet explores the practice of sentencing juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the context of international human...
These intimate profiles of individuals who were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole as children illustrate the importance of reforming...
Detroit –The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today released a comprehensive report entitled “Reclaiming Michigan’s Throwaway Kids: Students Trapped...
A Guide To Help You Correct Your Record If It Contains Crimes You Did Not Commit
Having a criminal record can keep you from getting a job, getting an...
DETROIT — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced a federal lawsuit today against the City of Detroit on behalf of an army veteran who was...
Despite a loss in the U.S. Supreme Court today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan remains hopeful that the Supreme Court eventually will strike...