Senate Passes Bill Opening Door to Indefinite Detention

December 15, 2011 12:00 am


Media Contact
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
United States

Controversial Defense Bill to be Signed by President Obama

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – Following the House’s passage of the bill last night, the Senate today passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill contains a sweeping worldwide indefinite detention provision that leading members of Congress support using to indefinitely detain without charge or trial even American citizens and others picked up in the United States itself. The bill will now go to the president’s desk for signature.

Though President Obama had threatened to veto an earlier version of the NDAA, he has reversed his position and has signaled he will sign the bill.

“President Obama still has time to reconsider his decision to sign this dangerous bill into law,” said Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office. “We encourage the president to seriously consider what it will mean for America, for the first time since the McCarthy era, to enshrine indefinite detention without charge or trial right into the statute books.”

By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU’s privacy policy.

The Latest in National Security

ACLU's Vision

The American Civil Liberties Union is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America.

Learn More About National Security

National Security issue image

The ACLU’s National Security Project is dedicated to ensuring that U.S. national security policies and practices are consistent with the Constitution, civil liberties, and human rights.