Home : Immigrants' Rights

ACLU Welcomes Detainee Basic Medical Care Act (05/13/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union applauds Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) for introducing the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008. This legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop procedures to ensure adequate medical care for all detainees held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The legislation also requires ICE to report detainee deaths to the DHS and Department of Justice Offices of Inspector General.

Disability Backlogs Violate Due Process Rights (05/08/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union was encouraged by today’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on service delivery problems with the Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices. The SSA has struggled in processing disability claims in reasonable timeframes and the ACLU has concerns that a mandatory employment verification system would capsize the already overburdened agency.

Employment Verification Would Create a ‘No Work List’ in the U.S. (05/06/2008)
WASHINGTON – As the House Ways & Means subcommittee on Social Security met today to debate employment eligibility verification systems, the American Civil Liberties Union sounds its call for Congress not to erect barriers for Americans who seek employment. The hearing is to examine the impact that employment verification systems would have on the Social Security Administration (SSA), an already overburdened governmental agency.

ACLU Welcomes Immigration Detention Medical Treatment Legislation (05/05/2008)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union applauds Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) for introducing H.R. 5950, the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008. This legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop procedures to ensure adequate medical care for all detainees held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The legislation also requires ICE to report detainee deaths to the DHS and Department of Justice Offices of Inspector General.

Civil Rights, Immigration Policy And Workers' Rights Groups Present New Evidence On Devastating Impact Of "No Match" Rule (04/25/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union, Immigration Policy Center (IPC), National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and Low Wage Immigrant Worker (LWIW) Coalition presented new evidence today that confirms that if the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) proposed "no match" rule goes into effect, it will result in the mass firings of U.S. citizens and other authorized workers and have a devastating impact on American businesses and the economy.

FBI Practices Need Strict Oversight, ACLU Says (04/23/2008)
Washington, DC – As FBI Director Robert Mueller appeared before Congress today, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the House Judiciary Committee to ask him the “hard questions.”

E-Verify Would Cost $40 Billion, CBO Says (04/08/2008)
WASHINGTON – The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released the estimated cost to implement H.R. 4088, the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act of 2007, and found that the proposed legislation would cost taxpayers more than $40 billion over 10 years. H.R. 4088, introduced by Representatives Heath Shuler (D-NC) and Tom Tancredo (R-CO), would implement a national employer verification system and mandate it for all new hires. It is currently under consideration for a “discharge petition” that would allow the bill to bypass the traditional committee markup process and instead go directly to the House floor.

Immigrants' Rights Advocates And ACLU File Lawsuit To End Illegal Delays In Processing Citizenship Applications (04/01/2008)
PHILADELPHIA - Many immigrants who have satisfied the requirements to become U.S. citizens have been illegally left in limbo for years due to the slow processing of FBI "name checks," charged a lawsuit filed today in federal district court in Philadelphia against government officials responsible for the prolonged, system-wide delays. As a result of the lag in "name checks," hundreds or thousands of citizenship applications have been held up well past the 180-day window established by Congress for processing the applications.

ACLU And MALDEF File Lawsuit Against Arizona Town Over Anti-Solicitation Law (03/25/2008)
PHOENIX – A local Arizona anti-solicitation ordinance targeting day laborers violates the free speech rights of individuals who express their availability to work by standing in public areas, charged the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Arizona and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) in a lawsuit filed today in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.

ACLU Says Schools Must Provide In-state Tuition to U.S.-Born Virginia Residents Even If Parents Are Undocumented (03/25/2008)
Richmond, VA -- In letters being mailed today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia warns Virginia colleges against denying in-state tuition to U.S.-born students whose parents are undocumented immigrants. The ACLU’s letter responds to a memo from the Virginia Attorney General’s office claiming that undocumented persons are not considered to be domiciled in Virginia and therefore their children are presumed not to be domiciled here as well. One must be domiciled in Virginia to receive in-state tuition.