ACLU Lawsuit Targets President Trump’s Travel Restrictions

ACLU Sues Government Over NSA Surveillance
The fallout of the National Security Agency's surveillance programs continues and now the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Obama administration for its role in scandal. According to the ACLU, the program "represents a gross infringement of the freedom of association and the right to privacy." International human rights attorney Stanley Cohen discusses the most recent developments.

A.C.L.U. Sues to Bar ‘Dragnet’ Collection of Phone Records
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its “dragnet” collection of logs of domestic phone calls, contending that the once-secret program — whose existence was exposed by a former National Security Agency contractor last week — is illegal and asking a judge to both stop it and order the records purged.

The lawsuit, filed in New York, could set up an eventual Supreme Court test. It could also focus attention on this disclosure amid the larger heap of top secret surveillance matters that were disclosed by Edward J. Snowden, a former N.S.A. contractor who came forward on Sunday to say he was the source of a series of disclosures by The Guardian and The Washington Post.

The program “gives the government a comprehensive record of our associations and public movements, revealing a wealth of detail about our familial, political, professional, religious and intimate associations,” the complaint says, adding that it “is likely to have a chilling effect on whistle-blowers and others who would otherwise contact” the A.C.L.U. for legal assistance.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment. » | Charlie Savage | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

ACLU Lawsuit Could End 70-Year Tradition
May 23, 2011 – Cross dispute could stall commencement

ACLU Challenges Capture or Kill Order

Related >>>

Tariq Ramadan n’est plus interdit d’entrée aux Etats-Unis
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: LEVÉE D'INTERDICTION | L’intellectuel genevois Tariq Ramadan a fait savoir hier qu’il n’était plus interdit d’entrée aux Etats-Unis. L’American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) a confirmé dans un communiqué que la secrétaire d’Etat Hillary Clinton avait signé des ordres qui mettent fin à l’interdiction.

L’intellectuel genevois Tariq Ramadan a fait savoir hier qu’il n’était plus interdit d’entrée aux Etats-Unis. L’American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) a confirmé dans un communiqué que la secrétaire d’Etat Hillary Clinton avait signé des ordres qui mettent fin à l’interdiction.

L’ACLU, une association américaine de défense des libertés civiles, a défendu la cause de Ramadan, interdit de territoire américain pour liens présumés avec le terrorisme. >>> ats | Mercredi 20 Janvier 2010

Muslim Group Files Complaint against College
BOSTON HERALD: A Muslim-American advocacy group filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over a Boston college’s policy that forbids face coverings, including traditional Islamic garb.

The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences banned face coverings last fall, citing security and the need to be able to match students with their mandatory photo IDs, and a college spokesman says the only two female Muslim students on campus who might be affected had no objection.

But Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations, which filed the complaint, said, “Even though the policy refers to students it will clearly impact the staff and employees as well.” >>> O’Ryan Johnson | Thursday, January 07, 2010

Massachusetts College Bans Face Coverings, Muslims Outraged
DIGITAL JOURNAL: A Massachusetts college has banned students, faculty, and staff from wearing any kind of face covering, outraging some Muslim groups. The ban is believed to be the first of its kind at a U.S. college.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences told the Boston Globe yesterday that the ban was intended to protect the public safety on its three campuses. The prohibition includes such items as ski masks and scarves, and is not specifically aimed at the traditional Islamic burka.

“It’s no surprise that college safety has become a huge issue of importance in the past couple years,” said college spokesman Michael Ratty. “This is another measure that public safety [officials] wanted to implement to keep the campus safer.” >>> Martin Laine | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Pharmacy School Bars Covering of the Face
THE BOSTON GLOBE: The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has banned students, faculty, and staff from covering their faces on its three campuses in an effort to ensure public safety, a college spokesman said yesterday.

But the new policy has drawn flak from a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, which wants the school to exempt Muslim women who veil their faces for religious reasons.

“It’s a very strange policy,’’ said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. “I don’t know where it came from. The only thing we can conclude is that it’s designed to specifically target Muslims.’’

Sarah Wunsch, staff attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, called the policy “puzzling and possibly illegal.’’ >>> Martin Finucane | Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Immigration Law Denies Equal Protection For Same-Sex Life Partners
COMMON DREAMS: Legislation Is Needed To Bring U.S. In-Line With Other Democracies

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on a bill that modifies U.S. immigration law to provide equal protection to same-sex life partners of citizens and permanent legal residents. As part of the hearing, entitled "The United American Families Act: Addressing Inequality in Federal Immigration Law," the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to lawmakers urging the Committee to pass S. 424, "Uniting American Families Act."



Currently, same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents are denied the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Consequently, gay citizens and permanent residents are barred from activities such as sponsoring their foreign partners for permanent residency. U.S. immigration law lags behind the immigration laws of many other democracies that permit equal sponsorship protections including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. >>> | Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Festhalten an Guantánamo-Tribunalen: Obama erntet scharfe Kritik von Menschenrechtlern
WELT ONLINE: Internationale und US-amerikanische Menschenrechtsgruppen sind wütend auf Barack Obama. Mit scharfen Worten verurteilen sie die Entscheidung des US-Präsidenten, die Militärtribunale im Gefangenenlager Guantánamo auf Kuba wieder zuzulassen. Obama rücke auf gefährliche Weise von seinen Reformvorhaben ab, hieß es.

US-Präsident Barack Obama hat mit seiner Entscheidung zum Festhalten an den Militärtribunalen gegen Terrorverdächtige scharfe Kritik von Menschenrechtsorganisationen hervorgerufen. Es handle sich um eine „alarmierende Entwicklung, erklärte am Freitag das Zentrum für Verfassungsrechte in Washington, das sich seit Jahren um eine bessere Rechtsstellung der Gefangenen im US-Lager Guantánamo auf Kuba bemüht. Obama habe vor seiner Wahl die Hoffnung geweckt, mit den „gefährlichen Experimenten“ seines Amtsvorgängers George W. Bush zu brechen.

Das System der Militärtribunale sei „irreparabel fehlerhaft“, erklärte der Direktor von Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth. Indem die falsche Idee der Bush-Regierung wiederbelebt werde, rücke Obama auf gefährliche Weise von seinen eigenen Reformvorhaben ab.

Die American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) erklärte, die Militärtribunale zählten zu der „Politik der Folter, der illegalen Haft und der Verweigerung gerechter Prozesse“, die von der Regierung Bush verfolgt worden sei.

Amnesty International warf Obama vor, eines seiner zentralen Wahlversprechen gebrochen zu haben. Die Tribunale, die Obama selbst als enormen Fehler bezeichnet habe, müssten abgeschafft werden, forderte der Vertreter der Menschenrechtsorganisation, Rob Freer. >>> | Samstag, 16. Mai 2009

Why the Silence about ‘Islam Day’?
THE DAILY SENTINEL: And just why, we can’t help but ask, is the ACLU not enjoying the sunny beaches of Hawaii at the moment? Or the Grand Junction atheists, for that matter?

They both could find, in our 50th state, a cause that makes prayer before Mesa County Commission meetings a matter of little consequence.

The Hawaii state Senate this week, with only a smattering of lawmakers objecting, passed a bill that proclaims Sept. 24, 2009, “Islam Day.” The bill, which aims to recognize “the rich religious, scientific, cultural and artistic contributions” that Muslims have made to the world, has already passed the Hawaii House of Representatives and now only awaits the signature of the governor to be enacted into law.

No doubt Muslims have made contributions to the world. So have Christians, Jews, Buddhists and members of a lot of other religions. But they, unlike a few Muslims — and there are many more out there like them — didn’t kill more than 3,000 innocent Americans in 2001. We shouldn’t forget that, either.

The last time we checked, we could find no state that officially honors Christians, or Jews, or any other religion we can think of.

The United States has long been know for its tolerance. But tolerance should go only so far. Just ask the ACLU, or our local atheists, both groups that have fought long and hard for separation of church and state. Tolerance, for those groups, stops at the doors to public buildings.

We’ll forgive the local atheists. Hawaii, after all, is far outside their zone of influence, although we hope and expect that they would oppose the measure that is about to become law in Hawaii.

But the silence of the ACLU is perplexing.

It makes us wonder: Does the ACLU support separation of church and state, or simply separation of Christianity and state?
We think we know the answer. [Source: The Daily Sentinel] By The Daily Sentinel | Thursday, May 14, 2009