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.

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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

Vigilantism at the border is an imminent disaster

In recent weeks, a group calling themselves the United Constitutional Patriots illegally detained hundreds of immigrants at gunpoint in a remote part of the border near Sunland Park, N.M., and turned them over to U.S. Border Patrol.

By Peter Simonson

southern border

ACLU-NM Staff Recaps the 2019 Legislative Session

The ACLU of New Mexico hosted a live stream on Monday morning discussing the 2019 legislative session in New Mexico. 

ACLU Staff Leg Session

Transgender Day of Visibility

March 31 is transgender day of visibility, a day to celebrate transgender people and raise awareness of the discrimination so many face.

Trans Day of Visibility

Expungement Law Right for Formerly Incarcerated

Like many New Mexicans, I live with felony convictions dating back decades. Slightly more than 20 years ago, an Albuquerque police officer arrested me for taking an end table off of my neighbor’s sun porch and charged me with residential burglary — a third degree felony. I pleaded guilty and the judge sentenced me to 18 months in prison followed by five years of probation and two years of parole.

By Barron Jones

erasers

Setting the Record Straight on Expungement

This bill gets at some of the most important tools for fighting recidivism: access to good jobs, safe housing, and educational opportunities.

By Paul Haidle

The word conviction being erased

Elaine Maestas speaks out

Elisha’s family was counting on Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) deputies to help her. Instead, they killed her.28-year-old Elisha Lucero’s mental health had declined since undergoing major brain surgery earlier in the year, and on July 21 her family called 911 after she began exhibiting erratic and dangerous behavior. They just wanted the first responders to escort her to the hospital for treatment. Instead, the responding deputies needlessly escalated the situation and shot her 21 times.

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Albuquerque Journal Gets It Wrong: SB 196 Would Create Clarity, Not Chaos With Law Enforcement

Why creating a bright line between local police and federal immigration agents, would be a boon for law and order — not a cause for chaos.

By Peter Simonson

ICE

Governor Does Right by New Mexico's Border Towns

New Mexico has enjoyed a rare moment in the national spotlight as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham broke through walls both literal and metaphorical in a recent viral campaign ad she released earlier this month, shortly after announcing she would withdraw most of the National Guard troops ordered to the border by President Donald Trump last year.What was important about this moment for New Mexicans, e

By Nia Rucker

southern border

No Solace in Solitary: It’s Long Past Time to Reform New Mexico’s Over-Reliance On A Brutal Practice

Kelly Garcia left Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center nearly six years ago, but sometimes, in her dreams, she finds herself back in a familiar cell. She’s trapped by the same four concrete walls and that same long lonely silence which was pierced only by the occasional cries of inmates worn down by solitude.

By Katie Hoeppner

Kelly Garcia at New Mexico State Capitol.