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Terrorist Watch List Hits One Million Names (07/14/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – The nation's terrorist watch list has hit one million names, according to a tally maintained by the American Civil Liberties Union based upon the government's own reported numbers for the size of the list.

Federal Court Rules Strip Search Of 13-Year-Old Student For Ibuprofen Unconstitutional (07/11/2008)
SAN FRANCISCO – The American Civil Liberties Union applauded a federal appellate court ruling today that school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old Arizona girl when they strip searched her based on a classmate’s uncorroborated accusation that she possessed ibuprofen. Today’s 6-5 ruling from an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reverses an earlier decision by a divided three-judge panel of the same court. Eight of the eleven judges on the en banc court held that the strip search violated Savana’s constitutional rights, and a six-judge majority further held that the school official who ordered the search is not entitled to immunity as a result of his actions.

ACLU Sues Over Unconstitutional Dragnet Wiretapping Law (07/10/2008)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a landmark lawsuit today to stop the government from conducting surveillance under a new wiretapping law that gives the Bush administration virtually unchecked power to intercept Americans' international e-mails and telephone calls. The case was filed on behalf of a broad coalition of attorneys and human rights, labor, legal and media organizations whose ability to perform their work - which relies on confidential communications - will be greatly compromised by the new law.

Louisiana Becomes 11th State to Reject Federal Real ID Act (07/10/2008)
WASHINGTON – The state of Louisiana recently enacted legislation that prohibits the state from complying with the Real ID Act of 2005, federal legislation that mandates to all states that they create a national ID card. The Department of Homeland Security has been trying to gain support for the Act, but has faced growing resistance from the states. Louisiana is the 11th state to pass a law barring compliance with Real ID, and the 21st state to formally express its displeasure with the federal mandate. The legislation was passed by a vote of 72-22 in the Louisiana House, and by a vote of 36-2 in the Senate before Governor Bobby Jindal signed the bill into law.

ACLU At Guantánamo This Week For Hearings On Detainees' Legal Representation (07/09/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union is at Guantánamo this week for hearings to determine whether any of the detainees accused of 9/11-related crimes were coerced by fellow detainees into rejecting direct legal representation at their June 5 arraignment.

ACLU Skeptical of Senate Hearing on “Homegrown” Terrorism (07/09/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union urges the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to avoid suggesting that Americans of a certain religion or ethnicity have a greater proclivity for “homegrown terrorism.” Tomorrow the committee conducts a hearing on, “Islamist Extremism and Efforts to Counter It.” Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office said, “Making certain people, simply because of their religious beliefs and backgrounds, terror suspects is a grave national security mistake. We risk real harm to core civil rights and raise the risks of violent attacks by ignoring the Timothy McVeighs and Ted Kaczynskis who seek to do us harm.”

ACLU Thanks Senators Who Stood for the Constitution (07/09/2008)
Washington, DC – After a brutal loss on the FISA Amendments Act today in the Senate, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed gratitude to the senators who cast their vote against the bill.

ACLU To Fight For Religious Freedom Of American Indian Incarcerated In Wyoming (07/09/2008)
RAWLINS, WY – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Wyoming have agreed to represent a man whose rights to religious freedom are being violated by officials at the Wyoming State Penitentiary (WSP) who are not allowing him to practice his traditional Indian religion.

Senate Passes Unconstitutional Spying Bill And Grants Sweeping Immunity To Phone Companies (07/09/2008)
WASHINGTON – Today, in a blatant assault upon civil liberties and the right to privacy, the Senate passed an unconstitutional domestic spying bill that violates the Fourth Amendment and eliminates any meaningful role for judicial oversight of government surveillance. The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 was approved by a vote of 69 to 28 and is expected to be signed into law by President Bush shortly. This bill essentially legalizes the president’s unlawful warrantless wiretapping program revealed in December 2005 by the New York Times.

ACLU Calls on Congress to Investigate FBI’s Reported Racial and Ethnic Profiling Plan (07/08/2008)
Washington, DC – In light of tomorrow’s Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on the U.S. Department of Justice, the ACLU urges Congress to investigate the FBI’s reported racial and ethnic profiling plan. Although the guidelines do not require congressional approval, Congress has the authority to stop the Justice Department from finalizing guidelines that will open the door to racial and ethnic profiling of American citizens and legal residents during national security investigations. The Associated Press reported last week that among the factors that could make someone the subject of an investigation are travel to regions of the world known for terrorist activity; access to weapons or military training; and a person’s racial or ethnic background.

ACLU Urges Senators to Oppose Unconstitutional Surveillance Bill (07/08/2008)
Washington, DC – With the Senate debate continuing and a vote expected on the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 this Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union once again urged senators to vote against the unconstitutional bill, which will allow the government to monitor calls and emails without a warrant and without meaningful court review.

International Drug Policy Up For Debate At Landmark U.N. Forum (07/07/2008)
VIENNA, Austria – The American Civil Liberties Union today joins a diverse coalition of civil and human rights organizations participating in the United Nations’ “Beyond 2008 Forum,” a historic opportunity to assess the past decade of international drug policy and to shape its future course. The ACLU and others will speak to the inability of current, principally punitive drug policies to reduce the supply of or demand for illicit drugs, as well as the significant violence, health problems, and civil and human rights violations directly attributable to these policies.

ACLU Opens New South Carolina Office Today (07/02/2008)
CHARLESTON, SC – The American Civil Liberties Union opened its new South Carolina Office today, marking the creation of a new and powerful voice on behalf of civil liberties across the state.

ACLU Releases Navy Files On Civilian Casualties In Iraq War (07/02/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today released thousands of pages of documents related to Navy investigations of civilians killed by Coalition Forces in Iraq, including the cousin of the Iraqi ambassador to the United States. Released today in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the ACLU filed in June 2006, these records provide a vivid snapshot of the circumstances surrounding civilian deaths in Iraq.

ACLU to Mark One Millionth Addition to TSA Terrorist Watch List (07/02/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union will mark the addition of the one millionth name to the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) terrorist watch list in a July 14th Press Club event. The roll-over to one million confirms the warnings the ACLU has been making for years: the TSA is pinning American security on a system of watch lists that are bloated, inefficient, ineffective and unfair.

ACLU And EFF Sue Justice Department To Uncover Records Of Cell Phone Tracking (07/01/2008)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a lawsuit today urging a federal court to order the Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over records related to the government's use of people's cell phones as tracking devices. The ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the records in November 2007 following revelations that federal officials are using Americans' cell phones to pinpoint their locations, sometimes without a warrant or any court oversight. The DOJ has failed to release the documents or provide an adequate response to the request.

ACLU Reacts to DHS OIG Report on ICE Detainee Deaths and Medical Care (07/01/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reacts to the release of the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s report, “ICE Policies Related to Detainee Deaths and the Oversight of Immigration Detention Facilities.” The report examines two of the 33 detainee deaths reported between January 1, 2005 and May 31, 2007 and DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) standards related to detainee deaths and the medical treatment of immigration detainees.

US-EU Data Sharing Can’t Happen Without U.S. Legislation (07/01/2008)
The negotiations underway between U.S. security agencies and their European counterparts over the transatlantic transfer of personal data are just the latest attempt to overcome a looming problem that has consistently interfered with the Bush Administration’s attempts to collect the personal information of an ever-increasing share of the world’s population.

ACLU Asks Federal Court To Reinstate Extraordinary Rendition Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary (06/30/2008)
The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a brief asking a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan for its role in the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program on the grounds that the government misused the "state secrets" privilege to have the case thrown out. Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen was dismissed in February after the government intervened, inappropriately invoking the privilege to avoid legal scrutiny of an unlawful program.

ACLU Calls For Greater Accountability For Unlawful Deaths In U.S. Custody (06/30/2008)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the United States government to heed the concerns of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions. Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, whose mission includes reporting on alleged killings in the U.S. and overseas for which U.S. government and military officials may be responsible and the failure to prosecute and punish those responsible, announced his preliminary findings after touring the U.S. at the invitation of the U.S. government.