American Civil Liberties Union

There has never been a more urgent need to preserve fundamental privacy protections and our system of checks and balances than the need we face today, as illegal government spying, provisions of the Patriot Act and government-sponsored torture programs transcend the bounds of law and our most treasured values in the name of national security.


Watchlist Counter: Who's a Terrorist Now? Military Commissions Act

Freedom Files - Season 2
Ideological Exclusion

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Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have initiated sweeping programs that amount to racial profiling on a federal scale. There have been countless instances of Arab and Muslim Americans from all parts of the country being suspected and detained on the basis of their ethnicity and religious beliefs. The ACLU has provided legal support to a growing number of people who have been the victims of racial and ethnic discrimination.

Safe and Free : Discrimination : Press Releases view all

ACLU Challenges Government's Authority To Designate Charities As Terrorists Without Due Process Or Court Oversight (11/21/2008)
TOLEDO, OH – A federal court should block the government from blacklisting an Ohio-based charity without providing it due process and should lift a freeze on the organization's assets, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and several civil rights lawyers argued today. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) froze the funds of KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. more than 33 months ago without notice or a hearing, based simply on the assertion that the charity was "under investigation." OFAC then threatened to designate KindHearts as a "specially designated global terrorist" (SDGT) based on classified evidence, again without providing it with a reason or meaningful opportunity to defend itself.

Sweeping Homeland Security Investigation Of Muslims Was Unconstitutional And Discriminatory, Says ACLU (10/31/2008)
WASHINGTON – A report in today’s New York Times revealed details of a 2004 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) anti-terrorism program that, despite government claims to the contrary, used racial profiling. More than 2,000 Muslim immigrants were investigated in the lead up to the 2004 elections, and many were interrogated right before the November election. Despite the investment of considerable resources, “Operation Front Line” produced minimal results. Most of those investigated were found to have done nothing wrong.

ACLU Challenges Threat By Government To Designate Charity As "Terrorist" (10/09/2008)
TOLEDO, OH – The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and several civil rights lawyers today asked a federal court to block the government from blacklisting an Ohio-based charity, KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc., without due process. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) froze the group's assets more than 31 months ago, without notice or a hearing, based simply on the assertion that KindHearts was "under investigation." OFAC has since threatened to designate KindHearts as a "specially designated global terrorist" based on classified evidence, again without providing KindHearts with a reason or meaningful opportunity to defend itself.

Court Blocks Government From Designating Charity As "Terrorist" (10/09/2008)
TOLEDO, OH – A federal judge today blocked the government from blacklisting an Ohio-based charity, KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc., without further judicial review. In response to a request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and several civil rights lawyers on behalf of KindHearts, Judge James G. Carr of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Western Division blocked the government from designating the organization as a specially designated global terrorist "without first affording KindHearts with constitutionally adequate process," including notice and a meaningful opportunity to contest the basis for such a designation.

ACLU Challenges Government's Stigmatizing Of Mainstream Muslim Groups In Holy Land Case (06/18/2008)
DALLAS - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas filed a legal challenge today to clear the names of two mainstream Muslim organizations labeled by the government as "unindicted co-conspirators" in its criminal case against the Holy Land Foundation (HLF). Government attorneys publicly identified the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) as co-conspirators before the HLF trial, even though neither organization was the subject of a criminal investigation or charged with any crimes.

Safe and Free : Discrimination : Publications

Racial Profiling Since 9/11 report (02/26/2004)
Sanctioned Bias: Racial Profiling Since 9/11

Safe and Free : Discrimination : Legal Documents view all

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. v. Paulson et al. - Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (11/21/2008)

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. v. Paulson et al. - Complaint (10/09/2008)

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. v. Paulson et al. - Memorandum in Support of TRO and PI (10/09/2008)

USA v. Holy Land Foundation - ACLU Reply to Government's Opposition to Motion for Equitable Relief (07/21/2008)

USA v. Holy Land Foundation - Government's Opposition to Motion for Equitable Relief (07/11/2008)

Safe and Free : Discrimination : Legislative Documents

Coalition Memo to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Regarding "Homegrown Terrorism" (05/07/2008)

ACLU Statement Submitted by Timothy Edgar, Legislative Counsel, at a Citizen's Forum on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties After September 11, 2001 Before Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee (10/13/2004)

Safe and Free : Discrimination : Resources view all

Statements of Support for UCC Clients (07/21/2008)
Statements of Support for UCC Clients

Military Commissions Act of 2006: Document Resources (03/13/2007)
News, blog entries, legal documents and more on the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

FBI Interviews (08/05/2004)

Archive: Special Registration (04/28/2004)

Archive: Other Discrimination (04/28/2004)

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