Human Rights
FOIA Case Seeking the Trump Administration’s Legal Justification for Deadly Boat Strikes
The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (“OLC”) authored a legal opinion that reportedly claims to justify the Trump administration’s illegal lethal strikes on civilians in boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. Media reports indicate that, in addition to claiming that the strikes are lawful acts in an alleged “armed conflict” with unspecified drug cartels, the OLC opinion also purports to immunize personnel who authorized or took part in the strikes from future criminal prosecution. Because the public deserves to know how our government is justifying these illegal strikes, and why they think the people who carried them out should not be held accountable, the ACLU is seeking immediate release of the OLC legal opinion and related documents pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.
Status: Ongoing
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Washington, D.C.
Jun 2019
Human Rights
Weir v. U.S.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit in June 2019 against the United States and the head of the U.S. Coast Guard on behalf of four Jamaican fishermen, who were forcibly removed from their fishing boat and detained for over a month at sea on four U.S. Coast Guard ships in patently inhumane conditions.
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27 Human Rights Cases
California
Apr 2023
Human Rights
Prisoners' Rights
Ashker v. Governor of California
Ashker is a multi-year legal and advocacy struggle led by directly-impacted people to reform California’s use of solitary confinement and end its systemic reliance on fabricated confidential information to discipline people in prison.
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California
Apr 2023
Human Rights
Prisoners' Rights
Ashker v. Governor of California
Ashker is a multi-year legal and advocacy struggle led by directly-impacted people to reform California’s use of solitary confinement and end its systemic reliance on fabricated confidential information to discipline people in prison.
U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2022
Human Rights
Egbert v. Boule
Whether a damages remedy should be available when a federal agent violated the plaintiff’s First and Fourth Amendment rights by entering private property without a warrant, throwing the plaintiff to the ground without justification, and then retaliated against him for exercising his right to seek redress from the government.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2022
Human Rights
Egbert v. Boule
Whether a damages remedy should be available when a federal agent violated the plaintiff’s First and Fourth Amendment rights by entering private property without a warrant, throwing the plaintiff to the ground without justification, and then retaliated against him for exercising his right to seek redress from the government.
Court Case
Jul 2019
Human Rights
Women's Rights
IACHR Petition for Domestic Workers Trafficked by Diplomats
The ACLU, along with co-counsel the University of Chicago International Human Rights Clinic and organizations including Andolan, Adhikaar, CASA of Maryland, Damayan, and the National Domestic Workers Alliance, has been fighting to hold the U.S. accountable for the A-3 & G-5 visa programs that have enabled the trafficking of domestic workers by diplomats and other foreign officials. Currently pending before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is a petition on behalf of six former domestic workers and three advocacy organizations alleging that the U.S. violated its human rights obligations by failing to take meaningful steps to prevent, investigate, and remedy the exploitation of migrant domestic workers by employers covered by diplomatic immunity.
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Court Case
Jul 2019
Human Rights
Women's Rights
IACHR Petition for Domestic Workers Trafficked by Diplomats
The ACLU, along with co-counsel the University of Chicago International Human Rights Clinic and organizations including Andolan, Adhikaar, CASA of Maryland, Damayan, and the National Domestic Workers Alliance, has been fighting to hold the U.S. accountable for the A-3 & G-5 visa programs that have enabled the trafficking of domestic workers by diplomats and other foreign officials. Currently pending before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is a petition on behalf of six former domestic workers and three advocacy organizations alleging that the U.S. violated its human rights obligations by failing to take meaningful steps to prevent, investigate, and remedy the exploitation of migrant domestic workers by employers covered by diplomatic immunity.
Court Case
Dec 2017
Human Rights
Human Rights Hearing on Police Killings in U.S.
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Court Case
Dec 2017
Human Rights
Human Rights Hearing on Police Killings in U.S.
Court Case
Mar 2017
Human Rights
Immigrants' Rights
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Hearing on Trump's Executive Orders
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is meeting in Washington, D.C., for a regular session covering human rights issues in North and South America. This session, the Commission will be holding, at its own initiative, a hearing on the human rights implications of President Trump’s executive orders on the Muslim and refugee ban, immigration enforcement and detention, and the approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline. 6 groups were invited to present testimony including the ACLU.
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Court Case
Mar 2017
Human Rights
Immigrants' Rights
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Hearing on Trump's Executive Orders
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is meeting in Washington, D.C., for a regular session covering human rights issues in North and South America. This session, the Commission will be holding, at its own initiative, a hearing on the human rights implications of President Trump’s executive orders on the Muslim and refugee ban, immigration enforcement and detention, and the approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline. 6 groups were invited to present testimony including the ACLU.