Home : Immigrants' Rights

U.S. Citizen Illegally Deported From Jail Is Missing in Mexico (06/11/2007)

English-Only Amendment Would Endanger Lives, Discriminate and Create ‘Second-Class’ Citizens, ACLU says (06/07/2007)
WASHINGTON, DC -The ACLU today voiced its strong opposition to an amendment passed late last night to the Senate immigration bill that would declare English the national language and severely restrict the government’s ability to communicate with citizens, residents and visitors. The ACLU praised the passage of a competing amendment that would recognize English as the "common and unifying" language of the United States without restricting access to crucial federal information or declaring it the official language.

ACLU to Senate: The Nation Opposes Real ID, It’s Time To Scrap It (06/07/2007)
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union today called on Senators to support legislation stripping Real ID provisions from the Senate immigration bill. A flurry of recent activity in the state legislatures in the past week has made it clearer than ever that Americans oppose the act, and Congress needs to respond by repealing, not expanding Real ID. The ACLU also reported that a systematic review of 10,000 citizen comments on Real ID filed with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that they were almost uniformly negative.

ACLU Urges Senate to Oppose Voter ID Amendment to Immigration Reform Bill (06/05/2007)
Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Senate to oppose Senator Mitch McConnell’s amendment to S. 1348, the immigration reform bill, which is expected to receive a floor vote as soon as this evening. Senator McConnell’s amendment would require voters to present a government-issued photo ID in order to vote in federal elections. This requirement imposes an unnecessary and undue burden on the exercise of the fundamental right to vote for millions of Americans who are eligible, registered, and qualified to vote.

ACLU Calls for State Department and DHS to Stop Deportation to Torture of Coptic Christian to Egypt (06/04/2007)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today condemned the government’s announcement that that it intends to deport Pennsylvania resident Sameh Khouzam to Egypt, a country the State Department reports engages in torture. The United States government claims it has received “diplomatic assurances” from Egypt and moved to deport Khouzam last week, despite a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that he would likely be tortured upon his return.

ACLU Raises Concerns on Senate Immigration Bill; Proposed Legislation Would Harm Privacy, Due Process (05/25/2007)
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed grave concerns about the due process and privacy implications of the Senate immigration bill. The proposed legislation would create a vast federal database to verify the work eligibility of all job applicants in America - including U.S. citizens; expand indefinite detention; and deny effective judicial review of Department of Homeland Security errors denying immigration status.

ACLU Seeks Release of Gulf War Vet Illegally Detained for Three Years (05/22/2007)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a habeas petition seeking the release of Warren Joseph, a Gulf War veteran and immigrant from Trinidad who is a permanent resident of the United States. Joseph has been illegally locked up for more than three years in immigration custody in a New Jersey prison.

NYCLU Testifies Before United Nations Migrants' Rights Expert on Anti-Immigrant Ordinances (05/15/2007)
NEW YORK - In testimony before the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, the New York Civil Liberties Union expressed concern over the growing movement in towns, cities, and counties across the United States to introduce local anti-immigrant ordinances that attempt to drive out undocumented immigrants and their families, and to punish those who employ or rent to them.

ACLU of New Jersey Provides UN Rapporteur with Report on Immigration Detention that Outlines Concerns of Abuse (05/15/2007)
NEWARK - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today provided the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants with a report on immigration detention conditions in New Jersey to help inform him of conditions affecting immigrants during his fact-finding mission in the United States.

Treatment Of Immigrants In U.S. Violates International Standards, NYCLU And Human Rights Groups Tell U.N. (05/11/2007)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union will join community organizations, immigrant rights groups and officials tomorrow in a public hearing on the occasion of the visit by Jorge Bustamante, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, to the New York area.

ACLU of Southern California Learns Immigrants Are Forcibly Drugged for Deportation (05/08/2007)
LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has learned that two immigrants were forcibly sedated by the United States government. Raymond Soeoth and Amadou Diouf, clients in an ACLU of Southern California lawsuit, revealed that they had both been drugged involuntarily during attempts to deport them.

U.N. Independent Expert Denied Access to Hutto Detention Center (05/04/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today called on the U.S. government to explain why it is denying a United Nations independent expert access to the Hutto immigrant detention facility in Taylor, Texas.