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Lawsuit Filed Challenging Dangerous Plan to Move State’s COVID-Positive Incarcerated People to Angola

April 14, 2020

BATON ROUGE – Incarcerated people who test positive for COVID-19 in prisons and jails in around the state of Louisiana are being transferred to the Louisiana State Penitentiary (commonly called Angola) to be housed in Camp J...

“Many Will Die”: Federal Filing Demands Release of Immigrants Confined to Deadly Florida Detention Centers

April 13, 2020

MIAMI – Today, a coalition of organizations filed a federal class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Miami Division seeking the immediate release of all individuals in the custody of...

Advocates: Catastrophe Awaits Unless Action is Taken to Protect People Held at South Georgia Immigrant Detention Facilities Amid Pandemic

April 10, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta issued the following statement after the denial of their request for a temporary restraining order seeking the immediate...

SPLC Action Fund joins civil rights groups calling on authorities to address COVID-19 crisis in state and county jails

April 10, 2020

Montgomery, Alabama -- Earlier this week SPLC Action Fund joined multiple civil rights organizations in demanding that state and local governments in the South act immediately to protect incarcerated adults and juveniles, as well...

SPLC Action Fund Statement on the Tallahassee Conversion Therapy Ban Ordinance Decision

April 09, 2020

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Yesterday evening, the Tallahassee City Commission passed its conversion therapy ordinance, joining the growing list of state and local governments to support bans. The following statement is from Scott McCoy...

SPLC Statement on New CDC Guidance Regarding Essential Workers

April 09, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) issued the following statement by Meredith Stewart, senior supervising attorney with the Immigrant Justice Project , on the new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance...

Florida Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform calls for release of Florida prisoners with threat of COVID-19 looming

April 08, 2020

Tallahassee, FL -- In the last week incarcerated people have begun to test positive for COVID-19 in Florida’s jails and prisons. The main focus has been on Broward County, with one column claiming the Broward County Jail was a “...

Plaintiffs Ask Tennessee Court to Halt Unconstitutional Voucher Program

April 07, 2020

TENNESSEE – Parents and community members in Shelby and Davidson Counties who are challenging the constitutionality of the Tennessee Education Savings Account (ESA) voucher law filed a motion Friday asking the Chancery Court for...

AFJ calls for release of Alabama prisoners following news report that widespread infection and deaths are expected

April 06, 2020

Montgomery, Alabama -- Once again, Alabama is confronted with a life-threatening crisis in its prison system. And once again – according to recent reporting – the state has prioritized warehousing thousands of our community...

Immigrant Advocates Seek Immediate Release of People at Heightened Risk of COVID-19 from Notorious Georgia Detention Centers

April 03, 2020

ATLANTA – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, with pro bono assistance from the law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend, filed a lawsuit today seeking the immediate release of people held...

Immigration Court System Continues to Endanger Lives Despite Incremental Changes

April 03, 2020

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Innovation Law Lab (Law Lab), Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. and Santa Fe Dreamers Project...

SPLC: Court Decision Allows Lawsuit over Mississippi Public Schools to Move Forward

April 03, 2020

MISSISSIPPI – A lawsuit brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on behalf of families impacted by Mississippi’s failure to provide a “uniform system of free public schools” can move forward, the U.S. Court of Appeals...

New Emergency Filing Demands Release of Asylum Seekers Trapped In ICE Cages As Spread Of COVID-19 Accelerates

March 31, 2020

WASHINGTON – Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the ACLU of Louisiana filed an emergency motion for preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking the immediate release of...

SPLC Statement on Idaho Governor Signing Anti-Transgender Bills into Law

March 31, 2020

Late yesterday evening, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law two bills that target transgender people. HB 500 discriminates against transgender student athletes by prohibiting them from participating in sports, and HB 509 bars...

Florida Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform calls for release of Florida prisoners after multiple DOC employees test positive for COVID-19

March 30, 2020

allahassee, FL -- Last week it was reported that seven Florida Department of Corrections employees who work at seven different corrections facilities have tested positive for COVID-19. Members of the Florida Campaign for Criminal...

SPLC mourns the loss of Rev. Dr. Lowery

March 28, 2020

MONTGOMERY — Southern Poverty Law Center Interim President and CEO Karen Baynes-Dunning issued the following statement mourning the death of civil rights movement leader Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery, 98: “Today we pause to remember and...

Immigration Advocates Seek Emergency Order to Protect Lives and Rights Amid Global Pandemic

March 27, 2020

WASHINGTON – The Southern Poverty Law Center, Innovation Law Lab, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. and Santa Fe Dreamers Project, with the pro bono...

SPLC Action Fund: House Stimulus Bill Doesn’t Go Far Enough to Protect Working People

March 27, 2020

WASHINGTON – SPLC Action Fund Interim President and CEO Karen Baynes-Dunning issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the CARES Act, a $2 trillion economic stimulus bill Friday to address the...

SPLC Action Fund: Senate Stimulus Bill Doesn’t Go Far Enough to Protect Working Families

March 26, 2020

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate last night passed a $2 trillion economic stimulus bill to address the global COVID-19 pandemic that has upended the social and economic lives of millions of Americans. While the bill provides...

SPLC: Governor Ivey's Statements on Absentee Balloting 'Irresponsible', Showing 'Total Lack of Leadership on a Critical Issue'

March 25, 2020

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The following statement in response to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s comments on a call to press yesterday regarding no-excuse absentee balloting , is by Nancy Abudu, deputy legal director for the Southern...

Civil Rights Organizations Seek Emergency Court Ruling for Immediate COVID-19 Protections for People in Immigration Detention Centers

March 25, 2020

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Early this morning, a group of civil rights legal organizations and their pro bono law firm partners filed an emergency application for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Central...

SPLC: Predictably, ICE’s Precautionary Measures Have Failed

March 24, 2020

The following statement is from Laura Rivera, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative , in response to the first positive COVID-19 test of an individual in Immigration and Customs...

SPLC Action Fund Joins Other Florida-Based Groups to Urge Veto of Anti-Democratic Legislation SB 1794

March 23, 2020

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, a coalition of groups committed to defending Florida’s democratic process submitted a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis urging a veto of SB 1794 , which would impose significant, new hurdles to get...

Citing Irresponsible COVID-19 Policy for Immigration Courts, Advocates Urge for Protection of Government Employees, Lawyers, and Immigrants

March 23, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), alongside the American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and over 100 other organizations,...

SPLC Action Fund Statement on Education Provisions of Coronavirus Stimulus Proposal

March 23, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The SPLC Action Fund issued the following statement by Regional Policy Analyst Katherine Dunn about the education provisions of the federal government’s $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus proposal: “With over 50...

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To make Press Center inquiries, email press@splcenter.org

To make Press Center inquiries, email press@splcenter.org

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