A road sign showing the Rio Arriba county line with Lybrook elementary just beyond it.

Locked Out: When School Boards Exclude Native Representation

At a small school district in northwestern New Mexico, many Navajo parents cannot run for local school board or vote in the school district’s elections where their children go to school. 

Latest Press Release


People Incarcerated in Doña Ana County Jail Sue Over Violent Paramilitary Tactics and Inhumane Treatment 

Six people who were held at the Doña Ana County Detention Center (DACDC) filed a lawsuit today seeking to end the jail's practice of conducting violent, unwarranted paramilitary training operations on incarcerated people.
Body camera footage from March 8, 2025, when such training operations took place at DACDC. Various officers, masked and armed, are seen running into the quiet cells in the middle of the night.

More from the Press


Placeholder image

Stay informed on civil rights issues. Discover our latest actions and updates in the Press Release section.

A photo of Rita Padilla-Gutiérrez standing in front of her sign that reads: "Trump, racist, rapist, not my president"

More Than a Yard Sign: Fighting for Free Speech in Tomé, New Mexico

When Rita Padilla-Gutiérrez posted anti-Trump signs in her yard, Valencia County threatened her with criminal prosecution at the urging of a pro-Trump county commissioner.

By Rita-Padilla Gutiérrez

Dark blue collage image of GuJuan, featuring a recent photo of him along with a childhood picture in various color filters

Beyond the Concrete Box: Gujuan Fusilier’s Story

This blog is the third of a series based on interviews with three men currently held in the Penitentiary of New Mexico who are part of a class action lawsuit challenging the inhumane and unconstitutional conditions of New Mexico’s long-term solitary confinement unit.

By Lalita Moskowitz

Stylized image of plantiffs in front of a dark green background, a silhouette of a man sitting down on pavement looking distressed is centered in the photo stylized in green.

Beyond the Concrete Box: Human Stories from Solitary

This blog is the first of a series based on interviews with Mah-konce Hudson, GuJuan Fusilier, and O'Shay Toney, who are currently held in the Penitentiary of New Mexico.

By Lalita Moskowitz

Brutality in the Borderlands

A New Mexico man seeks justice after a Customs and Border Protection officer assaults him

By Davida Gallegos

Brutality in the borderlands

Lessons Learned: COVID-19 and Incarceration in New Mexico

It’s been one year and eight months since, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACLU of New Mexico first sounded the alarm of an impending humanitarian crisis for incarcerated people in the state.

By Katie Hoeppner, Lalita Moskowitz

Lessons Learned: COVID-19 and Incarceration in New Mexico. Picture of Coronavirus.

Strengthening and Defending Abortion Rights in New Mexico and Around the Country

For nearly 50 years, Roe v. Wade has guaranteed the right to abortion in the United States. Now that right stands at the brink of collapse. I won’t mince words. I write with both a heaviness in my heart and a measure of hope that New Mexico can rise to the challenges before us.

By Peter Simonson

Stop the bans protest

Failed Inspections, Understaffing, and Big Profits

How private immigrant detention centers in New Mexico benefited during the pandemic.

By Leonardo Castañeda

Failed inspections, big profits

Shannon wants a second chance for her brother

Shannon’s brother was sentenced to 30 years to life when he was just 16 years old for his involvement in the killing of their grandparents. For many years, Shannon refused to speak to her brother or his former friends, but now she is an advocate for second chances. Shannon wants to see legislation passed in New Mexico to give people sentenced as children who have grown and changed a chance to petition for early release.

Shannon Brown Fleeson

Shane got a second chance after 40 years in prison

When Shane was just 16 years old, a judge sentenced him to 30 years to life in prison. Like most people, Shane grew and changed as he became an adult.

Shane Lasiter

Q&A: What you need to know about MPP, the Trump-era migrant policy re-initiated by Biden

First rolled out by the Trump Administration, the so-called 'Remain in Mexico' policy for asylum seekers was re-initiated by President Joe Biden in December.

El Paso, Texas border wall between USA and Mexico running thru the desert.

Livestreaming Police is a Critical First Amendment Right

It is critical that the courts maintain robust First Amendment protections for people to record, share, and stream police interactions. Our ability to speak about police abuses depends on it.

By ACLU National

Man recording a line of police people

ICE Makes It Impossible for Immigrants in Detention to Contact Lawyers

Immigration detention is inhumane, but so long as people are detained, ICE must ensure that detention facilities provide immigrants with timely access to counsel.

By ACLU National

Phone next to window used by visitors to prison to communicate with inmates behind glass.