American Civil Liberties Union

You might've heard that yesterday, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) expressed his concern to members of Congress that some of President Obama's judicial nominees have ACLU affiliations and exhibit an "ACLU chromosome."

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to adopt a new open internet rule. We were critical of this rule when FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski first announced it at the beginning of the month, and we remain skeptical.

First, the good news: the new rule prohibits wired broadband owners — usually telecom companies like Comcast and Verizon that provide cable and DSL service to homes and offices — from discriminating against information by throttling, slowing or otherwise tampering with the transfer of any data on the wired Internet. No tampering with legal content moving from point A to point B.

Over the past several years, at ports, land border crossings, and international airports across the country, U.S. citizens and lawful residents who are Muslim or who are perceived to be Muslim have been targeted by CBP officers for questioning about deeply personal beliefs, associations and religious practices protected by the First Amendment.

Last week, the ACLU and Muslim Advocates sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Richard Skinner requesting an investigation into this troubling practice. We also filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for information and records about whether and when government officials are permitted to ask citizens and legal residents about their protected beliefs, associations, and activities during border inspections.

Do you prefer Fox News or Al-Jazeera?
Do you attend mosque? Why? How often? What mosque?
Are you Shi'a or Sunni?
How do you feel about the U.S. occupation in Iraq?

These questions — and many others similar to it — are the kinds of invasive questions many travelers are asked by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers as they cross U.S. borders. But given the nature of these questions, it won't surprise you that the only people being queried are Muslim, or are perceived to be Muslim.