News & Commentary

As the president continues to use language that dehumanizes and demeans immigrants and refugees while enacting policies to terrorize communities, abuses like those suffered by Arturo and his co-workers will continue.

Last year, we filed a complaint with the state Supreme Court, on behalf of ten people, Youth Art and Self-empowerment Project, and the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, with the law firm Arnold & Porter as co-counsel.

Probation reform in Pennsylvania is a significant issue with bipartisan support among advocates, legislators, and in our communities.

On behalf of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, we mourn Viviette’s passing and extend our condolences to her family. She was a friend to the organization who will be missed but never forgotten.

Too often, school administrators adopt safety and policing measures that are not based on research, but that are assumed to make schools safer.

Our new report, Punishing Poverty: Cash Bail in Allegheny County, is an analysis of how cash bail drives an epidemic of pretrial detention in Allegheny County.

When it comes to addressing Pennsylvania’s mass incarceration crisis, this election year brings with it a true sense of urgency and a real chance to pave the way for meaningful reform.

According to our birth certificate, our Articles of Incorporation, the ACLU of Pennsylvania started on August 10, 1951, as the “American Civil Liberties Union — Greater Philadelphia Branch.” It was the outcome of a request by the Citizen’s Council on Democratic Rights to become formally affiliated with the ACLU under that name. This request was promptly granted (it was a very short labor), and, as the ACLU-Greater Philadelphia Branch, we became the 17th designated affiliate of the ACLU. After a couple of years, our leadership determined that a more inclusive statewide name was essential, and so in 1954, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania was born as an additional statewide affiliate.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania is supporting legislation to modernize the commonwealth’s election laws, and that bill, Senate Bill 421, is expected to be considered by the state House this week.