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ACLU of Florida Condemns New Law Limiting International Travel and Academic Research
MIAMI - Today, Gov. Jeb Bush signed SB 2434 (Relating to Travel to Terrorist States) into law. The measure hampers the academic study of countries that are vital to national security by prohibiting the use of state university and community college funding from being used for travel to “terrorist states.” The law applies to funding not only from the government but other sources as well.

ACLU Applauds Chairman Sensenbrenner Hearing on Capitol Hill Search, Says Other Bush Administration Conduct Must Be Examined
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) for holding a hearing to examine the constitutionality of the recent search of the Capitola Hill office of Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) by federal agents, and renewed its call for the committee to hold hearings on other searches and conduct of the Bush administration that ignore the rule of law.

Historic E.U. Court Decision Annuls U.S.-E.U. Airline Passenger Data-Sharing Agreement; Department of Homeland Security Fails to Adequately Protect Passengers
NEW YORK—Today’s historic decision by the European Court of Justice striking down a data-sharing agreement between the United States and the European Union is a striking rebuke for the United States, and shows the need for the U.S. to reassess its plans for airline passenger profiling, the American Civil Liberties Union said.

ACLU Disappointed By Committee Vote of Support for General Hayden, Says Nominee Failed to Respect Rule of Law
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed its alarm over the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence vote to confirm General Michael V. Hayden as the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The committee voted 12 to 3 to name the former Director of the National Security Agency to the highest position at the CIA.

New Hampshire Vote On Quitting Real ID Shows Act's Troubles
NEW YORK -- Last night, the New Hampshire Senate narrowly defeated a measure that would have rejected the Real ID Act. Passage would have seriously disrupted the unified national identity card system that proponents are hoping to create. Nevertheless, while the Real ID Act continues to cling to life, having dodged a bullet in the Granite State, the Act is still deeply troubled and will remain so despite having survived its latest crisis.

ACLU Leaders Meet with White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Board, Call for Board to Exercise Strong, Independent Role
WASHINGTON - Key leaders from the American Civil Liberties Union today met with the White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board in order to encourage that panel to conduct aggressive investigation and oversight over several matters of pivotal importance to the civil liberties of all Americans.

Actors and Writers Read Works from Luminaries Censored at the Border
NEW YORK -- Prominent authors and actors convene tonight in lower Manhattan to read from the works of writers and scholars who were banned from the United States because of their political opinions.

Responding to ACLU Lawsuit, Government Backs Away from Claim that Swiss Muslim Scholar Endorsed Terrorism
NEW YORK - In response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of academic organizations, the Departments of State and Homeland Security have backed away from a claim that noted Swiss Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan is being denied entry to the United States because he endorsed or espoused terrorism.

ACLU Urges Federal Court to Lift Ban Blocking Muslim Scholar from United States
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union today urged a federal judge to lift the ban that prevents Professor Tariq Ramadan from entering the United States.

With Patriot Act Debate Over, Government Drops Fight to Gag Librarians From Discussing Objections to Controversial Law
NEW YORK – Less than six weeks after the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, the government has given up its legal battle over a gag order on Connecticut librarians affected by a controversial provision of the law, which will allow them to speak publicly for the first time about their objections to secret FBI demands for patrons’ library and e-mail records, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today.

ACLU Urges United Nations to Investigate CIA's "Extraordinary Rendition" Policy
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today formally called on a United Nations human rights investigative body, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, to conduct a full investigation into the United States' "extraordinary rendition" program.

ACLU Rebukes Department of Justice Continued Stonewalling on Wiretapping Questions, Says Accountability and Transparency Needed
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today condemned the continued refusal of the Justice Department to answer basic questions about the National Security Agency’s warrantless program to wiretap Americans. The Department today sent over its answers to questions about the illegal program from the majority and minority members of the House Judiciary Committee.

DeWine Proposal on NSA Spying Would Ratify Illegal Activity, ACLU Says; Legislation Would Weaken Oversight, Punish Whistleblowers
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly rebuked legislation introduced by Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) to ratify the warrantless surveillance of Americans by the National Security Agency. The "Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006" would give congressional approval to the illegal program, despite the fact that a fair and comprehensive investigation of the operation has still not occurred.

ACLU Asks Federal Court to Lift Visa Ban on Tariq Ramadan
NEW YORK -- Saying the government is violating the rights of Americans to hear constitutionally protected speech, the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union today asked a federal court to prevent the Departments of State and Homeland Security from barring a prominent Swiss scholar from entering the country to speak to American audiences.

ACLU Urges Congress to Adopt Stronger Whistleblower Protections, Warns Against Legislation to Penalize Workers That Bring Abuses to Light
WASHINGTON – Calling current federal protections for whistleblowers insufficient, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged Congress to adopt legislation to better protect whistleblowers who protect public safety. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has introduced S.2285, the Whistleblower Empowerment, Security and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2005 (WESTPAct), to achieve these goals.

ACLU Applauds Lawmakers for Examining Government Transparency, Sunshine Week Hearing Shows Overclassification Harms Democracy
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a key House panel for examining the issue of document overclassification. The hearing comes during Sunshine Week, a public education effort coordinated by journalists stressing openness in government. This is the third hearing in a series on overclassification initially sparked by the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency programs that are reclassifying and removing documents from the National Archives.

ACLU Condemns Secret White House Deal on Warrantless NSA Spying Program, Says Proposal Would Legitimize and Condone Illegal Activities
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today condemned an agreement announced by Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to support legislation to ratify the Bush administration’s warrantless National Security Agency program to spy on Americans, saying it would effect a whitewash of the program before getting the full facts about it. The specific details of this partisan deal, which was apparently struck between Vice President Dick Cheney and Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) joined by Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME), Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), remain unclear.

Justice Department Continues to Stonewall on NSA Spying Program
NEW YORK -- In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Justice Department today released documents on the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program. The ACLU said the documents, which include copies of articles, are a rehash of previously released information, and charged the Justice Department with stonewalling on its obligation to comply with a federal court order.

Justice Department Issues Review of Civil Liberties Abuses, ACLU Says Patriot Act Still Remains Shrouded in Secrecy
WASHINGTON - In a semi-annual report to Congress mandated by the Patriot Act, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General today released a report outlining allegations of civil rights and civil liberties abuses by department personnel in a broad range of areas, including mistreatment of federal prisoners, misuse of surveillance powers, mistreatment of protesters at the 2004 political conventions, and misuse of the material witness statute.

ACLU Says Cosmetic Changes to the Patriot Act Hollow, Measures Approved by the House Fail to Protect American Liberty and Privacy
WASHINGTON - As the House of Representatives approved a final set of amendments to the fundamentally flawed bill to reauthorize the expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed disappointment that the small package of amendments failed to protect the liberty and privacy of ordinary Americans. These amendments and the reauthorization bill passed the Senate last week without the changes needed to ensure these extraordinary powers are focused on suspected foreign terrorists and not innocent people. The House approved the flawed conference report last December.