Anti-Immigrant Laws

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.

06/25/2012

S.B. 1070 at the Supreme Court

Supreme Court Deals Blow to 3 Provisions of Arizona’s Racial Profiling Law but Allows “Show Me Your Papers” Provision to Live Another Day

By Anthony D. Romero, ACLU at 3:53pm

Today’s Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. United States rightly rejects three parts of Arizona’s controversial SB 1070 law as unconstitutional.

06/12/2012

Plyler v. Doe

Protecting the Promise of Plyler in Alabama and Beyond

By Georgeanne M. Usova, Washington Legislative Office at 5:35pm

“This,” said Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez, “is about real people with real dreams.”

Yesterday, Perez joined the Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali and a distinguished panel at the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office to commemorate the 30^th Anniversary of Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court decision that guaranteed equal access to a public education to all children, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. In their remarks, Perez and Ali highlighted the stories of real people: the many children whose access to education—and their dreams—are being threatened as a result of Alabama’s HB 56 and other anti-immigrant state laws.

05/19/2012

Anti-Immigrant Laws

Bentley’s Buckling on Immigration Bill Sinks Alabama into Deeper Morass

By Jonathan Blazer, ACLU at 2:37pm

How long does it take a governor to flip flop and buckle under pressure from Tea Partiers? About a day, if you’re Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley.

On Friday, he signed a bill making flawed revisions to HB 56, the nation’s most extreme anti-immigrant state law. Just a day earlier, Bentley had declined to sign the new measure, which was rammed through the Legislature on the last day of its 2012 regular session. Instead, he summoned lawmakers to reconsider the bill in a special session in order to “prevent children from being interrogated” by school officials about their immigration status and the status of their parents. He also cautioned against the “public relations problem” that would ensue from a startling new requirement that the state Department of Homeland Security post online the names of every undocumented immigrant who appears in a state court.

05/18/2012

Anti-Immigrant Laws

ACLU Lens: Alabama Governor Signs New Anti-Immigrant Measure into Law

By Steve Gosset, ACLU at 11:08pm

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley late Friday signed a measure that makes small changes to the state’s anti-immigrant law. The move came a day after he signaled he might veto the measure because he found two key parts unacceptable, including a "scarlet letter" provision that would have branded many law-abiding immigrants as criminals.

Despite his reservations, Bentley said he signed the measure to “remove the distraction of immigration” from a special session of the Legislature he called this week, and allow what he called “progress made in the legislation to move forward.”

05/10/2012

Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

It's Not About the Money – Spending vs. Ideology in Congress

By Michael Macleod-Ball, Chief of Staff, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 7:31pm

The first spending bill for the new fiscal year that starts in October was adopted by the House of Representatives today after a week of wrangling. H.R. 5326 will provide funding for the Departments of Justice and Commerce as well as several science agencies – the so-called Commerce Justice Science (CJS) bill. If you listened to some in the majority, you would have thought the floor debate – which under an open rule allowed for unlimited amendments – provided a ripe opportunity for adding measures to cut spending, presumably the mantra in this time of fiscal austerity and Tea Party dominance. But some conservative writers, like those at Red State, note that cutting spending falls way down on the list of political priorities.

05/08/2012

Anti-Immigrant Laws

"Estamos Unidos" …Against Discrimination and Anti-Immigrant Laws

By Lucia Hermo at 1:29pm

As I stepped off the plane from JFK to Oakland, I admit that I was a bit scared. Normally sitting behind a desk, I was about to embark on a ten-day journey across the United States, sharing a van with eight people I had yet to meet, trying to rally people against the wave of discriminatory “show me your papers” laws in the very states that have adopted them. I was in unfamiliar territory.

05/07/2012

Voter ID

On the Agenda: Week of May 7-13, 2012

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 1:38pm

Congress is back, so we’re looking at a busy schedule this week.

As we mentioned last week, this Wednesday the House Armed Services Committee will mark up this year’s National Defense Authorization Act. We’re keeping a close eye on NDAA amendments, which could affect several diverse civil liberties issues, including LGBT rights, indefinite detention, reproductive rights, and military sexual trauma.

04/27/2012

This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (4/27/2012)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:23pm

What law threatens the Occupy movement’s and other activists’ right to protest?

What bill recently passed by the House did the President threaten to veto because of its privacy problems?

Which court heard arguments this week regarding Arizona’s anti-immigrant bill, S.B. 1070?

In which state does U.S. citizen and ACLU plaintiff Jim Shee carry his passport at all times because the color of his skin makes him look suspicious?

04/25/2012

S.B. 1070 at the Supreme Court

Report from the Supreme Court: Arizona v. United States

By Cecillia Wang, ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project at 4:59pm

Ultimately, it's not only up to the Supreme Court to decide if S.B. 1070 will stand. The American people must decide whether we will tolerate a nation with such invidious laws.

American Civil Liberties Union