American Civil Liberties Union

There has never been a more urgent need to preserve fundamental privacy protections and our system of checks and balances than the need we face today, as illegal government spying, provisions of the Patriot Act and government-sponsored torture programs transcend the bounds of law and our most treasured values in the name of national security.


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Ideological Exclusion

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Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have initiated sweeping programs that amount to racial profiling on a federal scale. There have been countless instances of Arab and Muslim Americans from all parts of the country being suspected and detained on the basis of their ethnicity and religious beliefs. The ACLU has provided legal support to a growing number of people who have been the victims of racial and ethnic discrimination.

Safe and Free : Discrimination : Press Releases view all

Case Against Largest U.S. Muslim Charity for Supporting Terrorism Results in Mistrial (10/22/2007)
DALLAS -- A federal judge declared a mistrial today in the criminal case against the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and five of its former top officials. In 2001, HLF, then the nation's largest Muslim charity, was shut down when the government accused it of providing "material support" for terrorism. The government later charged it with having provided funds to local "zakat" committees that provide humanitarian aid in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, alleging that the committees were run by Hamas.

U.S. Citizen Asks Federal Court to Insure Safe Passage For His Family Back from Canada (12/21/2006)
CHICAGO - The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois today asked a federal judge to help ensure a safe, uneventful trip across the U.S.-Canadian border for a suburban Chicago father and U.S. citizen when he, his wife and young children travel next week.

ACLU Argues For Expedited Release of Government Documents on Torture of Detainees (08/12/2004)
NEW YORK -The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union urged a federal court today to order the government to release records relating to the treatment of prisoners held by the United States at Abu Ghraib and other detention facilities overseas.

After Latest Data Release Controversy, ACLU Urges Census Bureau to Create Privacy Advisory Committee (08/05/2004)
NEW YORK--In a letter sent today to the Director of the Census Bureau, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) expressed consternation over the Bureau's provision of detailed data on individuals of Arab descent to the Department of Homeland Security, and urged the Bureau to create "a new outside body to advise the bureau on privacy and civil liberties issues."

ACLU of Southern California Plans to Represent Muslims and Others Targeted for New Round of FBI Questioning (07/27/2004)
LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California today announced that it is offering free legal representation to all persons in the Southern California area who are questioned by the FBI in its latest dragnet interview program.

Safe and Free : Discrimination : Publications

Racial Profiling Since 9/11 report (02/26/2004)
Sanctioned Bias: Racial Profiling Since 9/11

Safe and Free : Discrimination : Legal Documents

ACLU Brief in Downing v. Massachusetts Port Authority (11/10/2004)

ACLU Complaint in the "No-Fly List" Case (04/06/2004)

Safe and Free : Discrimination : Legislative Documents

ACLU Statement Submitted by Timothy Edgar, Legislative Counsel, at a Citizen's Forum on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties After September 11, 2001 Before Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee (10/13/2004)

Safe and Free : Discrimination : Resources view all

Military Commissions Act of 2006: Document Resources (03/13/2007)
News, blog entries, legal documents and more on the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

FBI Interviews (08/05/2004)

Archive: Other Discrimination (04/28/2004)

Archive: Special Registration (04/28/2004)

ACLU Analysis of FBI's FOIA Response on "No Fly" list (12/04/2003)

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