Tag Archives: ACLU

Arizona Voter Registration Groups Sue Secretary Reagan For People Who Change Addresses With MVD; “Stamping Their Feet” Or “Protecting Qualified Voters”?

Posted on August 20, 2018 by | 2 comments

The League of Women Voters has filed a federal lawsuit against Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan on Saturday, as a result of a disagreement over when and how to change people’s addresses for voting purposes after they  filed a change of address with the Motor Vehicle Division. Is it an example of “stamping their feet in front of a judge” – as claimed by Reagan’s office – or “protect(ing) thousands of Arizonans from the irreparable loss of their right to vote this November.” That will be among the questions for the judge to decide.

Joining LWV in bringing the suit are voter registration groups Promise Arizona and Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, with legal assistance by the ACLU (national and Arizona chapter) and others. They are asking that the Court order the Secretary to instruct County Recorders to count provisional ballots that may be voted at the voters’ old address (because that still shows as their voter registration address despite filing a change with MVD).

The Court is also being asked to order the Secretary of State to notify – before mid-September – all voters who filed change of addresses with MVD. The letter would instruct them as to their voting options and would include a voter registration form. (Click here to read the Complaint and related filings.)

After the voter registration groups reached an understanding last week with MVD, AHCCCS and DES about future cure to the agreed violations of the federal Motor Voter Act, Secretary Reagan announced that she had rejected the demands because changes are already scheduled for 2019 and trying it now “would only produce voter confusion.” Secretary of State Communications Director Matt Roberts told Arizona’s Politics that:

“It’s disappointing that organizations like the ACLU, Mi Familia Vota and the League of Women Voters are seemingly more interested in stamping their feet in front of a judge rather than accepting the fact that the changes they want are already scheduled. We’re confident the court will agree that sending a letter to five hundred thousand people saying the state changed their voter registration address right before an election isn’t the greatest idea.”

 

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Federal judge issues a preliminary injunction against family separation policy; 17 state attorneys general sue Trump administration

Posted on June 27, 2018 by | 1 comment

The ACLU’s class action lawsuit Ms. L v. ICE to end immigrant family separation and immediately reunite children and parents has reached a pivotal point. The San Diego Union Tribune reports, San Diego federal judge orders separated children reunited with parents within 30 days:

A San Diego federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union that calls for all children affected by the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy to be reunited with their parents within 30 days.

In a toughly worded opinion, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw wrote “the facts set forth before the court portray reactive governance — responses to address a chaotic circumstance of the government’s own making. They belie measured and ordered governance, which is central to the concept of due process enshrined in our Constitution.

“The unfortunate reality is that under the present system migrant children are not accounted for with the same efficiency and accuracy as property. Certainly, that cannot satisfy the requirements of due process,” he added.

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Posted in Activism, AZBlueMeanie, Civil Rights, Congress, Constitution, Corruption, Courts, Crime, Ethics, GOP War On..., Immigration, International, Justice, Law Enforcement, Mexico Border, Military, Party Politics, President, Scandals

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ACLU case against Trump’s zero tolerance immigration policy can proceed

Posted on June 7, 2018 by | 11 comments

Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) tried to visit an immigration detention facility in Brownsville, Texas on Sunday, but was denied access into the building. Sen. Jeff Merkley denied entry into one migrant detention facility, claims he saw kids caged in another:

This prompted a letter and 19 questions from Sen. Merkley to the Office of Refugee Resettlement about what’s going on behind closed doors at some of the country’s detention facilities amid concerns about the separation of children from their parents who have attempted to cross the border illegally.See the letter and all 19 questions. The senator requested a response by June 15.

Merkley live-streamed his arrival at a detention facility run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement in Brownsville, Texas on Sunday, which he said was housing children who had been separated from their families at the border. During Merkley’s live stream, the senator introduced himself to guards outside the building, identifying himself as a member of Congress and asking for permission to enter. The windows at the facility appeared to be blacked out.

“I was barred entry,” Merkley said. “Asked repeatedly to speak to a supervisor — he finally came out and said he can’t tell us anything. Police were called on us,” he added in a tweet.

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“I wanted to be able to visit the facility where apparently upwards of 1,000 children are being held in that massive building, a former Walmart, and the federal government, President Trump and team, Attorney General Sessions, Homeland Security, they do not want members of Congress or the public to know what’s going on,” Merkley later told CNN in a phone interview on Monday.

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Posted in AZBlueMeanie, Campaigns, Civil Rights, Congress, Constitution, Corruption, Courts, Elections, Ethics, GOP War On..., Immigration, International, Justice, Law Enforcement, Mexico Border, Party Politics, President, Racism, Scandals

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ACLU Report: Arizona Charter Schools Illegally Discriminate

Posted on December 15, 2017 by | 3 comments

Arizona charter schools are illegally choosing students who fit their mold by applying exclusionary policies, failing to fulfill their “school choice” promise that all students have an equal opportunity to enroll, according to a new report by the ACLU of Arizona.

The report, Schools Choosing Students, exposes Arizona’s 543 charter schools and their discriminatory—and sometimes unlawful—policies, which create barriers to enrollment for low-income students, English learners, students with disabilities, and other vulnerable student populations.

Schools Choosing Students found that at least 262 charter schools, or 56 percent, have policies that are clear violations of the law or may discourage the enrollment of some students. Some of the troubling findings include:

  • At least 19 charter schools have policies or language in their enrollment documents that may prevent or discourage the enrollment of students who have struggled academically in the past. Arizona law prohibits schools from choosing students with high test scores or grades over other students.
  • At least six charter schools place an enrollment cap on the number of students with special education needs, violating federal law and an Arizona statute that states charter schools shall not limit admission based on a student’s disability.
  • Under the Arizona Constitution, students have a right to a free public education; however, at least 35 charter schools charge fees for a range of items without giving parents a waiver option.

The report gives specific examples of discrimination against students with disabilities, special education needs, a need for academic assistance, and kids who “don’t fit the mold” (which is code for “not good enough for the school.”)

Arizona charter schools operate independently, but they are part of Arizona’s public education system and use taxpayer funds. They must be open to all students. Education leaders must act to remove discriminatory barriers to enrollment so that all students have equal opportunity to enroll at a charter school if that’s what the student’s family wants.

“School choice” means families choose schools, not the other way around.

Read Schools Choosing Students in its entirety, available in English and Spanish, on the ACLU of Arizona website.

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Free showing of “1984” film at Loft Cinema

Posted on March 29, 2017 by | Comments Off on Free showing of “1984” film at Loft Cinema

Free Screening!

1984

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Join us for a special free screening of the classic film version of George Orwell’s chillingly prophetic novel, 1984, on April 4th, the day Orwell’s protagonist Winston Smith begins rebelling against his oppressive government by keeping a forbidden diary.

TUESDAY, APRIL 4 AT 7:30PM | FREE ADMISSION at Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd.

Presented by the University of Arizona Department of English and The Loft Cinema.

“A dystopian, futuristic society trapped in a state of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance and public manipulation.    A tyrannical political leader known as “Big Brother.”  An average citizen who dreams of rebellion.

Join us for a special free screening of the classic film version of George Orwell’s chillingly prophetic novel, 1984, starring John Hurt and Richard Burton. The screening date of April 4 is also the day Orwell’s protagonist Winston Smith begins rebelling against his oppressive government by keeping a forbidden diary. Over 90 independent cinemas in the U.S. will be banding together to screen 1984 on April 4.

Following the film will be a talkback and panel discussion on the novel’s relevancy to our current political climate, featuring Christopher Cokinos, UA Department of English; Marcia Klotz, UA Department of English; and Bradley Schauer, UA School of Theatre, Film and Television.

Come early to meet representatives from local organizations doing important work in our community at an outdoor Activist Fair, starting at 6:00pm and presented by The Loft Cinema.   Groups scheduled to appear include ACLU of Arizona; Colibri Center for Human Rights; Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona; Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation; Tucson Audubon Society; and YWCA Tucson.  Copies of Orwell’s novel will also be available for sale at this event, courtesy of local independent bookstore, Mostly Books.

This stunning screen adaptation of George Orwell’s prophetic 1948 novel envisions a world in which the government completely controls the masses by controlling their thoughts, altering history and even changing the meaning of words to suit its needs. The film is set during April of 1984 in post-atomic war London, the capital city of the repressive totalitarian state of Oceania. Winston Smith (John Hurt) is a government bureaucrat whose job is rewriting history and erasing people from existence. While his co-worker Parsons (Gregor Fisher) seems content to follow the state’s laws, Winston starts to write in a secret diary despite the fact the Big Brother is watching everyone at all times by way of monitors. He silently suffers and tries to comprehend his oppression, which forbids individual human behaviors such as free thinking and sex. He meets Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), who works for the Ministry of Truth, and they engage in a stoic love affair. They are soon found out, and Winston is interrogated and tortured by his former friend O’Brien (Richard Burton in his final film appearance). This second adaptation of Orwell’s classic novel (the first was released in 1956) was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Michael Radford (Il Postino: The Postman). (Dir. by Michael Radford, 1984, UK, 113 mins., Rated R)”

Special thanks to our community partners:

ACLU (local website/national website)

Colibri Center for Human Rights

Planned Parenthood (local website/national website)

Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation

YWCA Tucson

Tucson Audubon Society

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