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ACLU Hails New Mexico Court Decision Upholding Immigrants' Right to Effective Counsel (09/01/2004)
ALBUQUERQUE -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico today hailed a unanimous decision by the State Supreme Court requiring that immigrants be told they could be deported if they plead guilty to a crime.

ACLU of Southern California Presses For Answers on Border Patrol Sweeps (07/20/2004)
LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California today filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection about recent immigration raids conducted across Southern California.

ACLU of Rhode Island Files Justice Department Complaint Over Lack of Court Interpreters for Defendants (07/19/2004)
PROVIDENCE, RI -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island announced today that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division against the state for failing to provide sufficient interpreter services for the 20,000 defendants with limited English proficiency who are involved in criminal court proceedings each year.

ACLU Applauds Introduction of Civil Liberties Restoration Act; Measure Restores Freedom, Protects Security (06/16/2004)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights organizations today welcomed the introduction in Congress of the "Civil Liberties Restoration Act of 2004," a bill that would restore basic freedoms and protections that have been compromised since 9/11, without compromising national security.

ACLU Opposes Latest Court-Stripping Assault on Rights of Immigrants; Unnecessary Proposal Includes Another Piece of 'Patriot 2' (05/20/2004)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly condemned new proposed legislation that would restrict immigrants' access to federal court, and called on Congress to reject the measure. The proposed bill would explicitly restrict access to the "Great Writ" of habeas corpus, which lies at the core of American liberty, and also contains a provision of the now defunct "Patriot Act 2" legislation leaked last year.

ACLU of Oklahoma Calls on Governor to Follow Parole Board's Recommendation and Spare Life of Mexican National (05/12/2004)
OKLAHOMA CITY-The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma was joined by a coalition of civil rights groups today in calling upon Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry to spare the life of Osvaldo Torres, a Mexican National scheduled to be executed on May 18. The groups held a rally on the steps of the state capitol in an effort to convince the governor to commute Torres' sentence to life imprisonment, following a recent recommendation for clemency from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

ACLU Launches Spanish Language "Access to Justice" Campaign Featuring Former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso (04/01/2004)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced the launch of a Spanish-language civil liberties education campaign targeting Latino immigrants in California.

Federal Appeals Court Orders Immigration Authority to Protect Unaccompanied Minors Charged With Deportation (03/26/2004)
SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court has ruled unanimously that immigration officials must ensure that a responsible adult is notified when the agency attempts to deport 14-to-18-year-old children who have been arrested and taken into custody on immigration charges, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today.

Constitution's Protection Against Unreasonable Search and Seizure Applies to All Immigrants in the U.S., ACLU Argues (01/06/2004)
SALT LAKE CITY- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced the filing of a brief urging the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse an unprecedented lower court ruling that threatens to strip many immigrants of their right to be free from unconstitutional searches and seizures that violate the Fourth Amendment.

ACLU Says New Border Fingerprinting System Likely To Sow Confusion, Tracking of Arab and Muslims Based on National Origin Will Continue (01/05/2004)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today warned that a new immigrant tracking program, known as US VISIT, can only increase confusion among immigrants to the United States in terms of when, where and how they have to register with the government, and will do nothing to end discriminatory tracking of Arabs and Muslims based on national origin and religion.

ACLU Opposes British-American Extradition Treaty; Says Measure Removes Crucial Due Process Protections (12/19/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today weighed in against the ratification of a new extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States, saying that the measure contains a number of ill-considered erosions of judicial review and would threaten the due process rights of Americans and others accused of crimes by the British government.

Justice Department is Misusing Criminal Database to Unlawfully Target Immigrants, Coalition Lawsuit Charges (12/17/2003)
NEW YORK - Civil rights and immigrant defense organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit challenging a post-9/11 initiative by Attorney General John Ashcroft to enlist state and local police in the routine enforcement of federal immigration laws.

ACLU Questions Newly Extended Employment Eligibility Verification System; Says Flaws in Databases Hurt Hard-Working Non-Citizens, Threaten Privacy (12/04/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today criticized the recent under-the-radar expansion in Congress of a flawed system to check whether job applicants are eligible to work in the United States. Most troubling, the ACLU said, is that incorrect and outdated information will unfairly deny jobs to many eligible applicants and that the law threatens to permit privacy violations through misuse of the system.

ACLU Calls Changes to Immigrant Registration System Positive Step, But Criticizes Half-Measures and Continuing Confusion (12/01/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union cautiously welcomed the announcement this morning by the Department of Homeland Security that it would be suspending parts of a controversial immigrant registration and tracking system -- known by the acronym NSEERS -- but emphasized that most of the program's provisions remain in effect.

ACLU Threatens Lawsuit Over Shortening of Special Registration Deadline for Arabs and Muslims in Pennsylvania (11/24/2003)
PHILADELPHIA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today warned immigration officials that it will file a federal civil rights lawsuit unless its Philadelphia office abandons a policy that makes it more difficult for thousands of Arab, Muslim and South Asian men to comply with the government's controversial "Special Registration" program.

Controversial Immigrant Registration Program May End; ACLU Says Arabs and Muslims Still At Risk for Unjustified Targeting, Deportation (11/21/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed cautious optimism about news reports that the government plans to end its controversial immigrant registration program, but said the most important question is whether re-registration deadlines would continue to apply to more than 80,000 people who have already registered once.

ACLU of Northern California Calls for Government to Halt Special Registration Program (11/20/2003)
SAN FRANCISCO -The America Civil Liberties Union of Northern California today asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to put a halt to the government's Special Registration Program that singles out Arab, Muslim, and South Asian men and boys. The ACLU also called for Congress to step in and halt the controversial program.

ACLU Urges Congress to Oppose Dangerous Law Enforcement Reform, Calls Immigration Powers Measure a Threat to Public Safety (10/01/2003)
WASHINGTON - As a key House subcommittee convened a hearing today to examine legislation that would blur the lines between federal and local law enforcement in civil immigration matters, the American Civil Liberties Union called the measure foolhardy and warned that it would have dangerous consequences for public safety.

ACLU of Louisiana Hails Federal Court Decision Overturning Ban on Immigrants Becoming Lawyers (09/19/2003)
NEW ORLEANS- The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today hailed a State Supreme Court ruling striking down a law that prohibited certain immigrants from practicing law in the state. On equal protection grounds, the court's decision agreed with the ACLU's argument that the rule arbitrarily discriminates against non-immigrant aliens who lawfully reside in the United States.

ACLU of Rhode Island Calls New Driver's License Policy "Shortsighted" (05/23/2003)
PROVIDENCE, RI--The announcement today by state officials that they will no longer issue driver's licenses to individuals who present Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs) rather than Social Security Numbers is a shortsighted policy change that will not make us any safer, but will cause enormous hardships.