ACLU Joins Leadership Conference and LDF to Request Congressional Oversight of “Surge” of Federal Law Enforcement in Portland and other U.S. Cities (Senate)

On July 27, 2020, the ACLU joined The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund to write the Congress to unequivocally condemn the actions of federal agents who have descended upon protesters in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon to quell their constitutional right to free speech and assembly. We also expressed concerns with President Trump’s announcement to further deploy federal law enforcement to more American cities to ostensibly fight violent crime. We asked the House and Senate Committees on Judiciary, Oversight, and Homeland Security to hold public hearings before Congress adjourns for the August recess, securing witnesses and records from relevant agencies for the hearings, and using their subpoena power where there is noncompliance.