Department of Homeland Security

03/25/2013

No-Fly List

The Constitution Applies When the Government Bans Americans From the Skies

By Nusrat Choudhury, Staff Attorney, ACLU National Security Project & Hina Shamsi, Director, ACLU National Security Project at 2:58pm

The government does not have the unchecked authority to place individuals on a secret blacklist without providing them any meaningful...

03/15/2013

Cybersecurity

Intel Officials Admit "Cyber Pearl Harbor" Unlikely Soon, Agree Cyber Should be Kept in Civilian Hands

By Robyn Greene, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:27pm

Privacy protection, and the debate about whether to house information-sharing programs in a civilian or military agency, dominated three congressional hearings on cybersecurity this week.

In separate hearings Tuesday in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Armed Services Committee, leaders of the intelligence community called cyberattacks the greatest threat to the U.S. at this time—but admitted that the kinds of catastrophic attacks imagined by reporters and cyber experts were only a "remote" possibility in the near future.

03/12/2013

Cybersecurity

ACLU to Congress: Keep Cybersecurity Information Sharing Out of Military Hands!

By Robyn Greene, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:49pm

As Congress debates cybersecurity legislation, one of the most significant questions legislators are tackling addresses where to house...

03/05/2013

Cybersecurity

ACLU to Congress: Keep Cybersecurity Information Sharing Out of Military Hands!

By Robyn Greene, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:58pm

UPDATE: Due to a winter storm approaching Washington, D.C., tomorrow's House Homeland Security Committee hearing on cybersecurity has been postponed for a later date.

As Congress debates cybersecurity legislation, one of the most significant questions legislators are tackling addresses where to house an information sharing program that would allow the private sector to hand over Americans' most private online information to the government: in a civilian or a military agency?

02/08/2013

Border Search

ACLU Files FOIA Request for Unreleased DHS Privacy Report on Laptop Searches at the Border

By Katie Haas, ACLU Human Rights Program at 10:07am

Aiming to determine the impact of border searches on Americans’ civil liberties, the Department of Homeland Security has produced a report on its policy of combing through and sometimes confiscating travelers’ laptops, cell phones, and other electronic devices—even when there is no suspicion of wrongdoing. The report was completed sometime between October 2011 and September 2012, and last week DHS quietly posted only the executive summary on its website, without many people noticing.

11/19/2012

Immigration Detention

ACLU to President Obama: Tackle the Homeland Security Budget in Your Plan to Avert Fiscal Cliff

By Shawn Jain, ACLU at 4:22pm

Much attention has turned to the so-called “fiscal cliff” of spending cuts and increases in taxes that could take effect in early 2013 barring congressional action. According to The Wall Street Journaland others, the president met last Friday with congressional leaders to avert falling off the cliff, and the Obama administration is planning to unveil an alternative that would replace the cuts for 6-12 months with more-targeted reductions and revenue increases. Immigration policy is an important consideration to keep in mind during these negotiations. Specifically, we encourage the president’s forthcoming plan to include specific cuts that right-size the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by cutting wasteful and unnecessary immigration enforcement spending.

10/26/2012

Customs and Border Protection

A Cause for Alarm: ACLU Tells UN Panel of Rampant Abuse by Out-of-Control Border Patrol

By Brian Erickson, ACLU of New Mexico at 5:04pm

Yesterday, I provided testimony at the United Nations as part of a U.N. General Assembly side event that examined human Rights violations at international borders, including the U.S.-Mexico border. The side event, which was chaired by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Mexican government’s ambassador to the U.N. and was attended by representatives of numerous nations, forms part of a growing dialogue within the U.N. and international community that began in March during an expert consultation on the matter and looks to continue at the upcoming Global Forum on Migration and Development.

10/10/2012

Fusion Centers

Senate Homeland Security Committee Misses the Mark with Statement on DHS “Fusion Center” Program

By Kara Dansky, Senior Counsel, ACLU Center for Justice at 2:35pm

Last week, the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Investigations issued a report criticizing the Department of Homeland Security for its failure to ensure proper oversight over state and local “fusion centers.” Shortly thereafter, the committee issued a statement denouncing the report and lauding fusion centers as playing a “significant role in many recent terrorism cases.”

10/03/2012

Government Surveillance

Fusion Centers: Too Much (Bad) Information

By Michael German, Senior Policy Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:32pm

The official verdict is finally in, thanks to a congressional report out today: state and local law enforcement intelligence “fusion centers” funded by the Department of Homeland Security are failing to safeguard both our constitutional rights and our security.

Back in 2007, when the ACLU began investigating the growth of these centers, there was little public information available about where these centers were, who was in charge of them, who participated, what information they collected or what they did with it. Our first report highlighted “excessive secrecy” as one of the major problems with fusion centers, recognizing that a lack of public accountability has too often in the past allowed police intelligence operations to turn their focus away from suspected criminals and toward political activists, racial and religious minorities, and immigrant communities. In a 2008 follow-up report, we chronicled many of the early signs of trouble in these institutions.

10/02/2012

Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

Important Breakthrough for LGBT Immigrant Families

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 1:57pm

In August, over 80 members of Congress, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), wrote to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requesting recognition, explicitly and in writing, of the ties of a same-sex partner or spouse as a positive factor for determining discretionary relief in immigration cases. On Friday, it was reported that DHS had announced it would be issuing new, written guidance providing that relief to LGBT immigrant families.

American Civil Liberties Union