Home : Safe and Free : General

Groups Condemn State Department's Decision to Deny Visa to Oxford University Professor Who Criticized U.S. Policies
NEW YORK - The United States government has denied a visa to Oxford University Professor Tariq Ramadan despite dropping its previous allegation that he endorsed terrorism, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today.

State Groups' Cost Estimate, Call for Revisions Should Be Final Straw For Real ID Act, ACLU Says
NEW YORK-- New minimum estimates for the cost of the Real ID Act to the states should make it clear to Congress that it needs to repeal the act, the American Civil Liberties Union said today. A call for major changes in, and delay of Real ID by nonpartisan governors' and state legislators' groups that jointly issued the cost estimate also highlights the troubles faced by the act, the ACLU said.

House Panel Flip-Flops on Military Commission Bill, ACLU Says Proposal Undermines Due Process, Geneva Conventions
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today condemned the House Judiciary Committee as that panel approved the White House’s proposal on military commissions after an earlier vote to reject it. Earlier, the committee failed, on a vote of 17-20, to approve H.R. 6054, with Representatives Jeff Flake (R-NM), Bob Inglis (R-SC) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX) voting with the Democratic members. The committee then moved to report the proposal with an unfavorable recommendation. However, the committee later revisited the issue, and on a vote of 20-19, approved the bill favorably.

ACLU, JACL Urge Senate Panel to Reject Detention Without Charge, Says Approval Would Violate Constitution, American Values
WASHINGTON - As the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security met today to consider differences between American and British anti-terrorism laws, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) urged lawmakers to reject any proposal to give the government the power to detain individuals indefinitely without charge, citing serious civil liberties concerns.

Five Years After 9/11 Attacks, the Fight to Uphold Americans' Fundamental Freedoms and the Constitution Continues, ACLU Chief Says
NEW YORK - In the five years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, Americans have successfully kept the light of freedom shining even as the Bush administration has consistently violated the spirit and letter of our laws, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

ACLU and Allies Oppose Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Say Plan Undermines Privacy, Provides Little Security
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today joined with Citizen Against Government Waste and the Cato Institute to oppose the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). The WHTI will require all travelers, including American citizens, to have a passport or other "appropriate security document" to enter or re-enter the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere, including Canada and Mexico.

ACLU: Bush Guts Geneva Conventions Enforcement and Undermines Due Process
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed opposition to the president’s proposal to try detainees and to amend the War Crimes Act to gut enforceability of the Geneva Conventions. In addition, the Department of Defense released an updated Army Field Manual on Interrogations that diminishes protections against abuse. At the same time, the president has also directed at least 14 prisoners held at CIA secret "black sites" to be transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and tried there.

ACLU of Washington Defends Free Speech Rights of Lt. Ehren Watada
TACOMA, WA -- In a military justice case that has drawn wide attention, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington is backing the free speech rights of a soldier facing court martial for refusing to serve in the war in Iraq. The ACLU today submitted a friend-of-the-court brief contending that Lt. Ehren Watada should not be punished for his public statements expressing legal and moral objections to the war in Iraq.

ACLU of New Mexico Sues DEA, Police Officers for Roughing Up Amtrak Passengers
ALBUQUERQUE – The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed a lawsuit today against a federal drug enforcement agent and two police officers who illegally searched and roughed up an Armenian couple last summer while their Amtrak train was stopped in Albuquerque. Today’s lawsuit seeks multiple violations of the civil rights of both individuals.

ACLU of Ohio Calls on Police and Local Communities to Stop Profiling
MARIETTA, OH - The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today cautioned law enforcement officials and local communities against allowing fears of terrorism to justify ethnic and racial profiling. The statement comes after a week of speculation that two Lebanese-American men arrested in Marietta may have been involved in terrorism because of “suspicious” activities. Yesterday, both men were cleared of all terrorism charges.

ACLU Decries Government Crackdown on Whistleblowers, Calls Transparency Vital to American Democracy
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly objected to the government’s attempts to crack down on brave whistleblowers who come forward to report on illegal or unconstitutional activity in government agencies. On Wednesday, Russell Tice, a whistleblower and former National Security Agency intelligence analyst was served with a federal grand jury subpoena to “testify and answer questions concerning possible violations of federal criminal law.”

U.S. Government Increasingly Blocking Entry at the Border Because of Ideology, ACLU Says
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union today released new documents that indicate the government is broadly interpreting and using a controversial Patriot Act power known as the "ideological exclusion" provision to block people from entering the country. The ACLU is concerned that the provision is increasingly being used to target foreign scholars and others whose politics the government disfavors.

ACLU Applauds Pentagon Memo Stating Military Detainees Covered By Geneva Conventions, But Justice Department Tells Congress It Should "Ratify" Broken Military Commission System
Washington, DC - After more than four years of lawlessness, the Defense Department took a big first step toward complying with federal law, by stating that it will comply with Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions when holding detainees. However, just hours after the announcement of the new Pentagon policy, a top Justice Department lawyer urged Congress to “ratify” the military commissions that the Supreme Court invalidated two weeks ago.

ACLU of Ohio Files First Lawsuit Challenging State’s Patriot Act
COLUMBUS, OH - The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today filed its first challenge to the much-maligned Ohio Patriot Act with the Ohio Supreme Court. The lawsuit, which specifically disputes a requirement forcing lawyers who act as public defenders to sign a statement certifying they are not terrorists, is only the first round of litigation challenging the many dangerous sections of the Act, the ACLU said.

On Independence Day, ACLU Notes Cause for Celebration and Concern
WASHINGTON - On the Fourth of July 230 years ago, a group of brave Americans launched a bold experiment in freedom - the United States of America. Among the reasons they cited for their unprecedented break with the British Empire was a king who had 'obstructed the Administration of Justice' and 'refused his Assent to Laws' the American colonies had freely passed to assure their safety and prosperity.

ACLU Condemns House Resolution Approving SWIFT Program
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the House of Representatives to vote against a resolution that would support the Administration’s program to collect financial information obtained by the SWIFT financial clearinghouse. The House resolution also condemns the news media’s disclosure of that program.

Senate Panel Examines President’s Use of "Signing Statements"; ACLU Welcomes Probe into Administration’s Abuse of Power
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed the Senate Judiciary Committee’s examination of President Bush’s use of presidential "signing statements," noting that such statements are a tool the president uses to subvert his duty to uphold U.S. law. Since taking office, President Bush has issued such signing statements affecting more than 750 laws, often claiming a supposed right to not enforce laws passed by Congress that he thinks limit his asserted unlimited powers.

Federal Judge Says Government Must Act on Muslim Scholar’s Visa Request
NEW YORK -- A federal judge today ruled that the government cannot continue to stonewall the visa application of Tariq Ramadan, a prominent European Muslim scholar, and that the government cannot bar non-citizens from the United States simply because of their political views. The decision comes in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union challenging a part of the Patriot Act known as the “ideological exclusion” provision.

Citizens Call on Federal Government to Fix Dysfunctional Screening System Responsible for Detentions and Harassment on Re-Entry to the United States
CHICAGO -- Nine American citizens from across the country today joined together in an effort to force the federal government to implement changes to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) and the policies of Customs and Border Protection that will ensure innocent Americans are not subjected to humiliating and unnecessary detentions and harassment by federal officials when they re-enter the United States.

Senate Judiciary Committee To Blindly Consider NSA Legislation, Fails to Challenge White House Claims of Unlimited Executive Power
WASHINGTON – As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepared to consider legislation today that would effectively approve the warrantless spying on Americans by the National Security Agency, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed its strong disapproval that lawmakers appear ready to accept unprecedented and unconstitutional claims of presidential powers. On Tuesday, Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) declined to order a hearing with leaders from telecommunications firms to investigate their involvement with the illegal program.