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
Court Case
Mar 2015
Human Rights
IACHR Hearing on Lack of Workplace Protection for Undocumented Workers
On March 16, the ACLU, the National Employment Law Project, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Transnational Legal Clinic will testify before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. At issue is the U.S. government’s failure to ensure that undocumented workers in the United States can access workplace protections. While undocumented workers undertake some of the most dangerous, low-wage jobs in the United States, the patchwork of state labor laws leaves many of these workers vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination, without legal protections when they are injured at work. Moreover, some employers have taken advantage of this situation to report undocumented workers to immigration officers for deportation when they report labor abuses.
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Court Case
Mar 2015
Human Rights
IACHR Hearing on Lack of Workplace Protection for Undocumented Workers
On March 16, the ACLU, the National Employment Law Project, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Transnational Legal Clinic will testify before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. At issue is the U.S. government’s failure to ensure that undocumented workers in the United States can access workplace protections. While undocumented workers undertake some of the most dangerous, low-wage jobs in the United States, the patchwork of state labor laws leaves many of these workers vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination, without legal protections when they are injured at work. Moreover, some employers have taken advantage of this situation to report undocumented workers to immigration officers for deportation when they report labor abuses.
Colorado
Oct 2014
Human Rights
Women's Rights
Jessica Gonzales v. U.S.A.
In the first case brought by a survivor of domestic violence against the U.S. before an international human rights tribunal, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found that the United States violated the human rights of Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales) and her children. The decision underscores that the U.S. is failing in its legal obligation to protect women and girls from domestic violence.
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Colorado
Oct 2014
Human Rights
Women's Rights
Jessica Gonzales v. U.S.A.
In the first case brought by a survivor of domestic violence against the U.S. before an international human rights tribunal, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found that the United States violated the human rights of Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales) and her children. The decision underscores that the U.S. is failing in its legal obligation to protect women and girls from domestic violence.
Court Case
May 2013
Human Rights
David, et al. v. Signal International, LLC, et al.
Hundreds of workers trafficked to the U.S. from India to work in shipyards after Hurricane Katrina were lured here with dishonest assurances of becoming lawful permanent U.S. residents. In February 2015, the company responsible and its representatives were ordered to pay $14 million to five of the victims. It was the largest amount ever awarded by a jury in a labor trafficking case.
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Court Case
May 2013
Human Rights
David, et al. v. Signal International, LLC, et al.
Hundreds of workers trafficked to the U.S. from India to work in shipyards after Hurricane Katrina were lured here with dishonest assurances of becoming lawful permanent U.S. residents. In February 2015, the company responsible and its representatives were ordered to pay $14 million to five of the victims. It was the largest amount ever awarded by a jury in a labor trafficking case.
U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2013
Human Rights
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
Whether the Indian Child Welfare Act was properly applied under the facts of this case.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2013
Human Rights
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
Whether the Indian Child Welfare Act was properly applied under the facts of this case.
Court Case
Mar 2013
Human Rights
EEOC v. Signal International, LLC
On April 20, 2011, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Signal International, LLC for abusing hundreds of foreign guestworkers from India lured to work in the U.S. after Hurricane Katrina.
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Court Case
Mar 2013
Human Rights
EEOC v. Signal International, LLC
On April 20, 2011, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Signal International, LLC for abusing hundreds of foreign guestworkers from India lured to work in the U.S. after Hurricane Katrina.