Blog of Rights
Joanne
Lin
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12/13/2012
287(g)

Petitions, Sign-on Letter Sent to Administration Calling for End to Controversial Immigration Program

By Abdi Soltani, ACLU of Northern California & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 12:03pm

Communities across the country are saying no to 287(g)...

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06/27/2012
287(g)

Reading the Fine Print: DHS Has Not Ended 287(g) in Arizona

By Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office & Chris Rickerd, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Charanya Krishnaswami, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 1:20pm

On Monday, the Supreme Court in Arizona v. United States struck down three provisions of Arizona’s S.B. 1070 racial profiling law, but reinstated, for now, the most controversial provision, which requires Arizona police officers to demand the immigration papers of anyone they stop, arrest, or detain. S.B. 1070 makes racial profiling Arizona state policy. When a police officer asks for papers, it’s based on bias because there is no way to tell by looking at or listening to someone whether the person is lawfully in the United States.

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05/31/2012
DREAM Act

House Republican Discloses a (Watered-Down) DREAM—What About the President?

By Charanya Krishnaswami, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 6:15pm
What happens to a DREAM deferred? In 2010 Senate Republicans defeated the bipartisan legislation, which offered a path to citizenship for DREAMers—promising undocumented youth headed to college or the military, most of whom were brought to the United States at very young ages through no fault of their own. But now, the same party that stamped out DREAM is attempting to bring it back—somewhat.
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04/05/2010

End It: 287(g) is Beyond Repair and Harms Local Communities Every Day

By Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 1:22pm

Should an accident victim be taken to jail by a state's highway patrol to check his or her immigration status?

Should undocumented residents who are victims or witnesses be afraid to report crimes to the police, creating public safety and national security gaps that trouble law enforcement leaders (PDF)?

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05/10/2012

U.S. House Votes Show Acceptance of Racial Profiling of Latinos, Minorities

By Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office & Chris Rickerd, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 6:38pm

The House of Representatives told us on Wednesday thatthe majority of members are okay with state-sanctioned racial profiling of Latinos.

Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) slipped in an amendment to the FY2013 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill that would prohibit the Department of Justice from originating or joining any legal challenge to nine specified state anti-immigrant laws, many of which are racial profiling laws in thin disguise. These include laws passed by Arizona, Alabama, Utah and South Carolina, where DOJ already has pending litigation, including at the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as Georgia and Indiana laws which the ACLU has challenged in court. Missouri and Oklahoma, where two omnibus anti-immigrant laws have been in effect for several years, are also included. While the Black Amendment doesn’t affect pending DOJ litigation, the amendment would handcuff DOJ from making future litigation choices consistent with the executive branch’s responsibility to uphold the Constitution.

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01/14/2011

The Whole Constitution — Without Holes

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 1:56pm

Clashing perceptions of our Constitution last week led to dissonant messages about the importance of defending our founding charter. The new 112th Congress kicked off the session with a reading of the document in the House of Representatives, a laudable expression of fidelity to first principles of American law and government. Describing the impetus behind the House's homage, Speaker John Boehner said that a core theme of his tenure will be "respecting the Constitution." We commend showing respect for the Constitution and hope that both parties will work to uphold the whole document.

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05/17/2012
Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Inappropriate Appropriations: The House Votes to Waste Taxpayer Money on Unnecessary Border and Immigration Enforcement

By Charanya Krishnaswami, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office & Chris Rickerd, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:22pm

“Trimming excess.”

That’s how Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, described the committee’s recently released 2013 budget for the Department of Homeland Security. Rogers says the bill, which the committee marked up and passed out of committee yesterday,  is “focused on fiscal discipline” and only supports the “most hard-hitting” of DHS’s vast umbrella of programs.

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