ACLU of Southern California (ACLU SoCal)

The ACLU of Southern California advances left-of-center policies such as removing police officers from schools, prohibiting local police to work with federal immigration authorities (also known as sanctuary jurisdiction policies), limiting qualified immunity to police officers, allowing the state to decertify police, diverting juvenile justice grant money from the police to other social programs, expanding LGBT legal protections, requiring LGBT issues to be taught in sex-education classes in schools, and expanding access to abortions. ACLU of Southern California states racism and white supremacy remain powerful forces today, so ACLU SoCal makes internal hiring and promotional decisions based on race. ^{1 1}

History and Background

The ACLU of Southern California was founded in 1923 when socialist activist and author Upton Sinclair spoke in San Pedro, California to read the First Amendment to gathered workers and was subsequently arrested. ² From the arrest, the newly formed national ACLU urged Sinclair to continue speaking and the ACLU of SoCal was formed as the first local affiliate in the country. ² In the 1930s, the ACLU of Southern California employed one of the nation’s first civil rights attorneys to conduct pro bono work. ²

The ACLU SoCal serves the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernadino, Kern, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. ³ The ACLU SoCal is associated with the ACLU of Southern California Foundation. ⁴

Positions

The ACLU of Southern California advocates on the issues of left-of-center economics, education equity, gender equity, abortion access, protection of immigrants and expansion of immigration, freedom of speech, and criminal justice and drug policy changes through litigation, legislation, and political means. ⁵ The ACLU of Southern California advocates that local law enforcement should not engage with federal immigration enforcement, that LGBT protections should be expanded, that LGBT issues should be added to school sex education, abortion access should be expanded, police should be removed from school campuses, and that police should only address serious crime and not mental illness, homelessness, and immigration issues. ⁶

ACLU SoCal states that racism has consistently shaped U.S. immigration laws and policies stating that racism and white supremacy remain powerful forces today. ¹ The ACLU of Southern California states it will take race into account from hiring and promotion to staffing. ¹

In May 2024, the ACLU of Southern California sided with pro-Palestinian protestors at UCLA in a dispute with the university stating encampments on the college campus should be removed pursuant to Supreme Court precedent allowing governments to place reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on otherwise First Amendment-protected expression. ⁷

Litigation

The ACLU of Southern California provides pro bono direct legal representation, files amicus briefs, and works with outside counsel on cases. ⁸

Racial Activism

In California v. Mosby and California v. Austin, the ACLU of Southern California served as co-counsel to the cases of individuals facing the death penalty under the California Racial Justice Act. ⁹ The defendants, both Black, are charged with murder by Riverside County and the defendant’s counsel and ACLU SoCal are seeking to prove the county cannot seek the death penalty due to Riverside County having a history of racial inequality and systemic racial bias. ¹⁰

Homelessness

In Tyson v. City of San Bernardino, the ACLU of Southern California with outside counsel filed and obtained a preliminary injunction against San Bernardino’s removal of homeless camps on parks throughout the city. ¹¹ In Butts v. City of Lancaster, ACLU SoCal filed a lawsuit on behalf of a homeless individual who was fined for sleeping outdoors in a vacant lot arguing that criminalizing homelessness violates the equal protection clause of the California Constitution. ¹²

Elections

In Inland Empire United v. Riverside County, the ACLU of Southern California with outside counsel filed a lawsuit against Riverside County on behalf of a Latino group claiming the district map for the county board of supervisors discriminated against Latino residents, preventing them from meaningful participation in county government. ¹³

Legislation

The ACLU of Southern California works on statewide legislation by lobbying the legislature, analyzing proposed legislation, presenting draft legislation and testimony, and uses grassroots efforts to sway the California legislature. ¹⁴ The ACLU SoCal has opposed legislation allowing businesses to use facial recognition technology; supported legislation that became law to allow election day voter registration; and advocated for programs to allow social workers and community organizations to respond to emergencies involving mental health, homelessness, domestic violence, and natural disasters. ¹⁵

ACLU SoCal supports a California Constitutional Amendment that would allow those on parole and formerly incarcerated the right to vote and supports legislation to allow automatic decertification for police officers fired for specified misconduct, limit qualified immunity, and make it easier to file civil lawsuits for police abuse. ¹⁶ ACLU SoCal supports a bill that would require counties to distribute juvenile justice grant money to public agencies that are not law enforcement. ¹⁷ The ACLU of Southern California supports legislation that would require abortions and family planning be available to anyone in jail. ¹⁸

Politics

The ACLU of Southern California opposed the recall of Governor Gavin Newsom (D) in 2021. ¹⁹ The ACLU Southern California has promoted district attorneys who promote leniency in prosecution and sentencing, listing examples of several George Soros-backed prosecutors around the country. ²⁰ The ACLU SoCal has been involved in redistricting, grassroots volunteer recruiting, get out the vote efforts, lobbying the legislature, and text-banks for elections. ²¹

Legal Partners

In 2023, the ACLU of SoCal received pro bono assistance from at least 36 law firms in Southern California to write amicus briefs, work as co-counsel on cases, participate in litigation and policy memos, conduct FOIA requests, provide direct legal representation, and conduct other legal administrative duties. ²

Financials

In 2023, the ACLU of Southern California had net assets of $9,315,722. ²² In 2023, the ACLU of Southern California recorded $4,511,644 in revenue and had $4,641,375 in expenses. ² In 2022, the ACLU of Southern California raised $5,545,274 in revenue and had $4,238,835 in expenses. ³

Leadership

Hector Villagra has been executive director at the ACLU of Southern California since 2011. ²³ Previously, Villagra launched the Orange County chapter of the ACLU in 2005 where he worked as director until 2009 and then legal director from 2009 to 2011. ²³ Prior to the ACLU, Villagra worked for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) from 2001 to 2005 as regional counsel and as staff attorney from 1999 until 2001. ²³ Villagra sits on the boards of Just Detention International and the left-of-center California Immigrant Policy Center. ²³

Officers of the Board of Trustees for the ACLU of Southern California have included left-wing Hollywood activists Jane Fonda and the late Norman Lear .² Members of the Board of Trustees of ACLU SoCal include left-wing actresses Alyssa Milano, Barbara Streisand, and Olivia Wilde. ³