School Funding Lawsuit Against State Officials →

If you are the parent of a child enrolled in a public school in Fall River, Chelsea, Chicopee, Springfield, Lowell, Haverhill, or Orange, please contact Lauren Sampson at lsampson@lawyersforcivilrights.org to find out how you can help secure additional resources for your child's future.  More than a dozen parents from across...

Settlement of Federal Voting Rights Act Case Against Lowell, Mass. →

Asian-American and Latino Voters Announce Settlement of Federal Voting Rights Act Case Against Lowell, Mass. Lawsuit Alleged that Lowell’s At-Large Electoral System Illegally Dilutes Vote of Communities of Color Lowell, Mass. (May 29, 2019) – The diverse coalition of Latino and Asian-American voters that filed a groundbreaking federal voting rights...

Weaponizing The Census Would Hurt Massachusetts →

Weaponizing The Census Would Hurt Massachusetts This op-ed by was published by WBUR's Cognoscenti. It’s tempting, in the wake of the Mueller report and the onslaught of news stories about rogue aides and Russian corruption, to focus on scandalous elements of the Trump administration. But none of these scandals have...

Federal Lawsuit to Block Immigration Arrests in Courthouses →

Prosecutors, Public Defenders, and Community Groups File Federal Lawsuit to Block Immigration Arrests in Courthouses Today, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, and the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), and the Chelsea Collaborative filed a groundbreaking lawsuit demanding an end to federal immigration...

Keep The Citizenship Question Off The Census →

Today, Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) and Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. (Mintz) filed a friend-of-the-court (amicus curiae) brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of national organizations and Boston-based groups in New York v. U.S. Department of Commerce, the case that will determine whether a citizenship question may...

Victory for Liberians. Trump Backs Down! →

We just secured a major victory for our Liberian clients. Following our groundbreaking lawsuit, the Trump Administration is reversing course and extending humanitarian relief and protection for thousands of Liberian immigrants who faced imminent detention and deportation on March 31. This high-stakes case has garnered the support of ten Attorneys General from...

10 Attorneys General File Brief Supporting Our Liberian Clients →

In African Communities Together v. Trump, our latest lawsuit against the Trump Administration on behalf of the Liberian immigrant community, ten attorneys general from across the country, including Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and California, have filed a friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief in support of our clients focusing on the irreparable harm...

Launching Multilingual Census 2020 Hotline →

In light of the critical role that the 2020 Census will play in determining how billions of dollars of federal funding will be allocated, Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) today announced a multi-pronged effort to ensure that all Massachusetts residents are counted. The campaign will include a multilingual Census Hotline...

Black Immigrants Sue Trump →

First, they came for the DACA recipients brought to this country as children. Then, they came for immigrants of color protected under TPS. Now, they come for Liberians. We will not allow the Trump Administration to trample on our dignity and constitutional rights. Today, we opened up a new front against the...

Solutions & Strategies to Diversify Boston’s Exam Schools →

COMMUNITY FORUM: SOLUTIONS AND STRATEGIES TO DIVERSIFY BOSTON'S EXAM SCHOOLS WHAT: Community Forum on Diversifying Boston's Exam Schools WHO: Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR); the NAACP Boston Branch; and more than a dozen community groups. Speakers will include: Boston City Councilor Kim Janey Iván Espinoza-Madrigal of Lawyers for Civil Rights...

Census Flaws: Language Inaccessibility & Limited Community Outreach →

Census Flaws: Language Inaccessibility and Insufficient Community Outreach Conditions Ripe for Undercount Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) calls on the U.S. Census Bureau to revise its operational plan for Massachusetts to increase outreach to historically undercounted populations who are at risk of underrepresentation in 2020. Given the history of inaccurate...

Community Forum on Exam Schools on Feb. 28 in Roxbury →

Lack of Diversity in Boston’s Fire Department →

Boston’s Response to Report on Lack of Diversity in Fire Department: More Empty Promises? Boston, MA — A recent city-commissioned review regarding the lack of diversity in the Boston Fire Department (BFD) tells an old tale tracing years of City inaction in the face of persistent gender inequality. BFD remains...

Separate and still unequal. →

January 21, 2019 — Today, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it's tempting to say that the worst days of prejudice are behind us, and that the moral arc of the universe is bending closer to equality for all. But, as former Attorney General Eric Holder warns, the arc “only bends...

Hate Crimes Are Multiplying In Massachusetts But We Can’t Blame Trump →

Hate Crimes Are Multiplying in Massachusetts But We Can't Blame Trump This op-ed by our Executive Director and Civil Rights Fellow was published by WBUR Cognoscenti. In our current social and political climate, it is easy to attribute the recent wave of hate crimes in Massachusetts to the Trump administration. But...

Condemning Trump Administration’s Assault On Anti-Discrimination Protections →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Condemns Trump Administration’s Assault On Anti-Discrimination Protections  As part of its ongoing rollback of civil rights protections, the Trump Administration is directing Justice Department officials to look for ways to eliminate one of the most potent tools of civil rights advocacy: the disparate impact doctrine. Lawyers for Civil...

Tools to Fight Hate: Know-Your-Rights PalmCards →

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Community-Based Health Center & Immigrants Rights Groups Condemn “Public Charge” Rule →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) submitted comments opposing the Trump Administration’s proposed rule improperly expanding the definition of “public charge” to deny immigration protection to those seeking legal permanent residence and other relief. The comments were joined by: MGH—Chelsea HealthCare Center Brazilian Worker Center; Chelsea Collaborative; East Boston Ecumenical Community...