ACLU

House Homeland Security Committee must exercise oversight over DHS’s creation of militarized zones within the US

WASHINGTON, DC, 7/17/2008 – Today, when Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union calls on the committee to exercise vigorous oversight of the many DHS programs that endanger U.S. citizens’ privacy and civil liberties without increasing security. DHS’s unchecked detention and deportation powers have resulted in abusive interrogations of families with children at checkpoints, creation of militarized zones within the U.S. and widespread fear in immigrant communities facing natural disasters.    » read more »

John Ashcroft led DOJ when torture memos were penned; important questions remain on torture timeline and role of NSC principals

WASHINGTON, DC, 7/17/2008 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) calls on former Attorney General John Ashcroft, in today’s House Judiciary hearing, to provide Congress and the American people with answers to questions about when, why and how the use of torture was authorized. Ashcroft presided over the Department of Justice (DOJ) during President Bush’s first term in office, when the legal rationale for using torture and abuse during interrogations of detainees held by the United States was first articulated in a series of legal memos.    » read more »

Washington, DC, 7/17/2008 – Americans’ online privacy was discussed today at a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. The hearing, titled “What Your Broadband Provider Knows About Your Web Use: Deep Packet Inspection and Communications Laws and Policies,” was meant to shed light on the practice of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) by Internet service providers (ISPs). DPI allows ISPs to track users’ Internet browsing activities and can be data mined for targeted marketing purposes. The ACLU urges members of the committee to be wary of the privacy landmines inherent in DPI.

The following can be attributed to Timothy Sparapani, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel:    » read more »

Federal Court Rules Unconstitutional Guantánamo Trial Of Salim Hamdan Can Proceed

NEW YORK, 7/17/2008 – Despite acknowledging questions about the constitutionality of the Guantánamo military commission system, a D.C. federal district judge ruled today that the military trial of Yemeni national Salim Hamdan can proceed.

Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said that any review of the fairness of Hamdan's case should occur after his military trial and not before. Hamdan is accused of being Osama bin Laden's driver.

The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project:    » read more »

Rights of Taxpayers To Challenge Government Funding Of Religion At Stake

7/17/2008 -- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a brief today in a federal appeals court urging the court to allow a discrimination lawsuit to go forward on behalf of a lesbian who was fired from her job at a publicly-funded Baptist group home in Kentucky. The home for vulnerable children required the woman to observe its religious belief that being a lesbian is sinful. The brief also charges that taxpayers should be able to challenge the state of Kentucky's decision to give public funds to a home that imposes its religious beliefs upon the children in its care.    » read more »

21 May 2008 -- The United States has defended its policy of detaining juveniles in prisons in Iraq, and Afghanistan. The issue is expected to be high on the agenda Thursday when the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child examines U.S. compliance with U.N. rules on dealing with children in armed conflict.

In a report submitted to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, the United States acknowledges it has detained almost 2,500 youths under the age of 18 since 2002. Almost all have been detained in Iraq under President Bush's anti-terrorism campaign.

Washington says it is holding more than 500 juveniles suspected of being "unlawful enemy combatants" in detention centers in Iraq. Another 10 are being held at the U.S. base at Bagram, Afghanistan.    » read more »

Washington, DC (7/26/2007) - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was encouraged today by the House Armed Services Committee hearing titled Upholding the Principle of Habeas Corpus for Detainees. The committee discussed Chairman Ike Skelton's (D-MO) proposed bipartisan legislation restoring the due process right of habeas corpus that was taken away by the Military Commissions Act last fall. The ACLU hopes this hearing will lead to the enactment of Chairman Skelton's bill.    » read more »

Washington, DC (7/26/2007) - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today applauded the failure of an amendment offered to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that would have authorized $300 million of federal funding for states to implement the Real ID driver’s license program, which has been estimated by DHS to cost $23.1 billion. The ACLU deemed the proposal "sucker money" because it aimed to entice states to accept a paltry amount of funding for a flawed program that would ultimately cost millions more in state taxes and licensing fees.    » read more »

Washington, DC, 7/28/2007 - The American Civil Liberties Union is responding to President George W. call for the gutting of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. These remarks can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the Washington Legislative Office of the American Civil Liberties Union:    » read more »

Washington, DC (6/11/2007) - In the wake of a Congressional no-confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the American Civil Liberties Union once again urged a thorough investigation into the Department of Justice. The resolution, introduced in the Senate, states that Gonzales "no longer holds the confidence of the Senate or American people."    » read more »

30 May 2007 -- A private legal defense group is suing a U.S. aviation corporation, accusing it of helping the CIA secretly transport three terrorism suspects to overseas prisons, where they were allegedly tortured. Victoria Cavaliere reports from VOA's New York bureau.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit Wednesday in a federal court in California. The suit accuses Jeppesen Dataplan, a subsidiary of the giant Boeing Corporation, of knowingly providing the CIA with flight plans and travel logistics in order to shuttle terror suspects to foreign prisons for interrogation.    » read more »