News & Commentary

The ACLU of Alaska announced James Flemings of Bethel and Valerie Ni hEideain of Wrangell as its 2016 Joan Hamilton Memorial Scholarship winners today. The scholarship provides financial support for students who are working towards a legal career advocating for the rights of Alaska Native and rural communities.

This morning, we joined 49 other ACLU affiliates around the country to expose how Customs and Border Protection officials are violating federal court orders and continuing to implement President Trump's unlawful immigration ban.

This afternoon, we sent a letter to the Juneau Assembly advising that their proposed ban on camping downtown may violate the Constitution's protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

The ACLU of Alaska filed a lawsuit against the Kenai Peninsula Borough on behalf of two Kenai residents who are unconstitutionally barred from giving an invocation before the KPB Assembly due to the Assembly's new invocations policy.

The ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed suit today to challenge Alaska restrictions which effectively ban health centers from providing abortion after the first trimester of pregnancy. 

The ACLU of Alaska is pleased to hear that the Kenai Borough Assembly has amended its invocations policy and will return to allowing all residents to fully participate in local civic life.

The ACLU of Alaska warned the Assembly that the new policy is unconstitutional and asked them to either stop invocations or go back to allowing anyone to offer them.

The Juneau Assembly passed a fully-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance by a vote of 8-1, making Juneau only the second Alaskan city where all people are protected against unfair and unequal treatment.

The ACLU of Alaska sent a letter to Mayor Berkowitz asking his administration to cease evicting people from homeless camps while Anchorage's shelters are full. We recognize that solutions to homelessness take time but are concerned about the constitutionality of evicting people who do not have anywhere else to go.