WASHINGTON – On Monday, May 18 at 3 PM ET, the chairs of the Congressional Asian Pacific American and Hispanic Caucuses will join civil rights leaders on Facebook Live for a discussion about COVID-19 legislative responses and the pandemic’s disparate impact on immigrants and families of color. The CARES Act excluded these communities by denying them basic health care and economic security — despite their being on the front lines fighting the pandemic. However, the new HEROES Act attempts to rectify those mistakes.

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Campaign, Muslim Advocates, NAACP, and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, along with 110 additional organizations committed to racial justice and civil rights, called on the U.S. Department of Justice to open a full and thorough hate crimes investigation into the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. The groups also called on the DOJ to conduct a federal civil rights pattern or practice investigation into the local district attorneys, as well as the Glynn County Police Department, for systemic constitutional abuses.

“It’s irresponsible that Chairman Graham convened the committee to continue churning out Trump and McConnell’s extreme judicial nominees while ignoring the devastating shock this pandemic is having on our country. As too many people need more relief, it is shameful that the Senate is spending time on a nominee like Schwartz, who has dedicated his career to defending some of the most extreme voting rights restrictions and anti-LGBTQ measures. His recently revealed offensive college writings make clear that his beliefs extend well beyond his legal arguments.

WASHINGTON—Urging Congress to make policy choices that address the pandemic’s impact on the justice system, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights will launch a series of radio ads tomorrow to underscore the need to protect the health and safety of people in jails, prisons, and detention centers and those who have been released in the next COVID-19 relief bill. The radio ads will run in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.

On Wednesday, May 6 at 11 AM, Senators and advocates for health care, civil rights, and justice will hold a digital rally against the nomination of Justin Walker to the D.C. Circuit. The rally will immediately follow his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Walker praised Brett Kavanaugh for having written the “roadmap” to overturn the Affordable Care Act and scorned the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the law as “indefensible” and “catastrophic.” Walker also supports broad executive power, and would be poised to shield Donald Trump from the scrutiny of congressional oversight. Senate Republicans are nevertheless risking the safety of their colleagues, Senate staff, and the public to push through his nomination in the middle of a pandemic.

In March, as congressional leaders worked to reach a deal on a COVID-19 relief package, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shut down the Senate so he could attend the swearing-in ceremony for his political protégé, Justin Walker, who was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky last October.

WASHINGTON — Forty pro-democracy and civil rights groups today joined in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, urging them to halt the process of federal judicial nominations and confirmations at this time.  The groups are members of the Fair Courts Task Force of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and wrote to urge "a cessation of the consideration of lifetime judicial nominees at a time when a continued focus on support and resources to address the COVID-19 pandemic should be paramount." 

WASHINGTON –On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Fair Courts Task Force, 42 groups outlined four principles for federal, state, and local courts to protect our civil and human rights and provide justice for all during this public health crisis. The principles were outlined in a letter to the Judicial Conference of the United States, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).