WASHINGTON – Today, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the ACLU of Louisiana filed an emergency motion seeking the immediate release of asylum seekers who remain under the custody of ICE amid the spread of COVID-19 in ICE detention centers. 

NEW ORLEANS – As many Louisiana jails curb in-person visitation to combat the spread of COVID-19, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana is calling on sheriffs to create free, secure, unmonitored phone lines

NEW ORLEANS – The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today expressed grave concerns about measures contained in Governor John Bel Edwards’ executive order that would suspend legal deadlines for district attorneys to file charges against people are held in jail.

After 10.3 percent increase, Louisiana’s pretrial incarceration rate is now three times the national average and the highest of any state on record since 1970 

EAST BATON ROUGE – The ACLU of Louisiana today praised efforts in East Baton Rouge Parish to curb pretrial detention by speeding up the arraignment process, steps taken by the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office and other criminal justice stakeholders. 

NEW ORLEANS – Calling the law unconstitutional and discriminatory, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisina today sent a letter to the Shreveport City Council urging the city to repeal an ordinance that criminalizes people for wearing “saggy pants.”

NEW ORLEANS – The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today hailed the Louisiana Legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 146, which will limit the practice of jailing sexual assault and domestic violence victims by prosecutors.

The Louisiana Senate today voted 30-6 in favor of House Bill 518, which reforms the state’s unjust, expensive and out-of-step habitual offender statute by eliminating certain first-time, nonviolent offenses from later being eligible for sentencing enhancements.

NEW ORLEANS — The ACLU of Louisiana today released a report outlining a series of reforms to reduce the number of people incarcerated in the state by half by 2025 – saving taxpayers more than $800 million that could be reinvested in making communities stronger and safer.