Blog of Rights

Facebook, Twitter and DHS: Which One of These Things is Not Like the Others?

By Sandra Fulton, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:58pm

It's tricky monitoring public information online, especially if you're the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Having the government turn a blind eye to information that anyone can read seems strange, yet the practice raises significant questions. Apparently the House Homeland Security Committee feels the same way — that's why it's holding a hearing tomorrow on the Department of Homeland Security's monitoring of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Separating Immigration Policy and National Security, Not American Families

By Chris Rickerd, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 3:22pm

As we remember the victims and heroes of 9/11, we're reminded that people of all colors and creeds died on that horrific day, including more than 100 undocumented immigrants. We also remember the courage of survivors, emergency responders, family members, and soldiers — who, like the victims, reflect the diversity of America. Their sacrifice enabled our country to move forward in a spirit of healing and unity.

Homeland Security Suspends Ineffective, Discriminatory Immigration Program

By Chris Rickerd, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:23am

Zero for 93,000. That was the government's terrorism conviction record resulting from several preventive immigration measures that targeted citizens of principally Arab- and Muslim-majority nations. At the heart of these efforts stood the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System or NSEERS.

Last Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made a long-overdue announcement indefinitely suspending NSEERS, which singled out immigrant men and boys from designated countries for extraordinary registration requirements with DHS, ranging from an extra half-hour of screening on arrival, through tracking of whereabouts while in the United States, to limitations on points of departure. Repeatedly condemned by the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, NSEERS mandated ethnic profiling on a scale not seen in the United States since Japanese-American internment during World War II and the "Operation Wetback" deportations to Mexico of 1954. Former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Commissioner James Ziglar was right in his appraisal of NSEERS, which the ACLU opposed from day one. Ziglar described NSEERS as a "disruption in our relationships with immigrant communities and countries that we needed help from" after 9/11, and lamented that it "caused us to use resources in the field that could have been much better deployed."

The U.S.-Mexico Border: Safer than Ever

By Shawn Jain, ACLU & Vicki B. Gaubeca, ACLU of New Mexico at 10:05am

Over the weekend, "NBC Nightly News" aired a segment on ranchers in rural Arizona concerned with border security. As is so often the case with media coverage of the border, this segment only included one side of the story – ranchers concerned about smugglers. Not included in this piece were the voices of many community members in the southwest—including ranchers – who are critical of the massive scale-up of border security, and the effect that it's had on their communities and ranches. For example, we have heard complaints from ranchers in the New Mexico boot heel region, who are concerned with Border Patrol agents "tearing up their land" or killing their cattle without paying them for their loss.

Curtailing Immigration Prison System Can Reduce Spending Without Hurting Public Safety

By Michael Tan, Staff Attorney, Immigrants' Rights Project, ACLU & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 11:17am

Today, Roll Call published an op-ed we wrote on how curtailing immigration prisons is an easy way for Congress to begin to reduce the deficit, cut government spending, and reform our flawed immigration system.

In addition, there are several steps the Obama Administration can and should take now, without waiting for Congress, to reduce its unnecessary and expensive reliance on immigration prisons.  Here are four:

S.B. 1070: "I Look Suspicious"

Lifelong Arizona resident Jim Shee has to carry a passport with him at all times in case he is pulled over and required to prove his right to be in his own country and city.

ICE's Mess in Massachusetts

By Laura Rotolo, ACLU of Massachusetts at 5:42pm

Over the last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has played out a miniature version of its catastrophic national strategy on Secure Communities in my home state.

Protecting All of Alabama

By Molly Lauterback, Immigrants' Rights Project at 2:29pm

Jane* is a single mother with three children. She's lived in Birmingham, Alabama, for over a decade, and works hard to provide a stable home for her kids. Jane is a responsible provider and resident of her community; she is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit we just filed against the state of Alabama.

Whitewashing S-Comm's Immigration Enforcement Failures

By Chris Rickerd, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 2:27pm

Secure Communities, the Obama administration's favored immigration enforcement program, has a track record that includes the unlawful detention of U.S. citizens. Antonio Montejano, for example, was held for four days after an arrest stemming from his children's handling of store merchandise. He remained in custody despite repeatedly proclaiming U.S. citizenship and arrived back home to his worried 8-year-old son, who asked "'Dad, can this happen to me too because I look like you?'"

Former First Lady and Women's Rights Advocate: Betty Ford

By Zoë Barth-Werb, Women's Rights Project at 2:38pm

On Friday, Betty Ford died at the age of 93. As first lady, she was best known for her outspoken nature and willingness to voice an often controversial opinion on any number of hot-button issues. A Midwesterner who never cared much for political life, it hardly occurred to her that she should only publicly state her opinion when it aligned with her husband's views or the GOP platform.

Betty Ford was a tireless advocate for women's rights. Civil liberties supporters often cite her work on the Equal Rights Amendment, which was designed to grant women full legal rights under the Constitution. While it ultimately failed, Ford's dedication was unquestionable. She continued to fight for it past her short term as first lady. When debate opened on removing the ERA from the GOP platform at the 1980 Republican National Convention, Ford walked out of the convention to join the National Organization for Women's protest.