Immigrant families in Alabama can finally breathe more freely thanks to a settlement reached Tuesday with Alabama over its draconian HB 56 anti-immigrant law, enacted in 2011. The settlement that we and our co-counsel reached permanently blocks key provisions of the law and significantly limits racial profiling resulting from its "show me your papers" provisions. The settlement is contingent on court approval.
By By Cecillia Wang, ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project
"Too many Americans go to too many prisons for too long for no good law enforcement reason."
By By Alex Berger, Legislative Assistant, ACLU
In 2008, the federal government launched programs to collect so-called "Suspicious Activity Reports" around the country. Government documents obtained by the ACLU show that these programs have operated without adequate privacy safeguards or guidance on the definition of "suspicious activity," resulting, as we feared, in violations of Americans' First Amendment and privacy rights, as well as racial and religious profiling.
By By Nusrat Choudhury, Staff Attorney, ACLU National Security Project
Newly sworn in FBI Director James Comey has ordered all new FBI agent trainees to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC, so they can reflect on the FBI's infamous history of hounding the civil rights leader and recognize "the dangers in becoming untethered to oversight and accountability."
By By Michael German, Senior Policy Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office
This piece was originally published on The Nation's website.
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By By Jesse Lava, Campaign Director, Beyond Bars & Sarah Solon, Communications Strategist, ACLU
Over the last several months, members of Congress have introduced at least two dozen spying reform and transparency bills. Today, a new proposal called the USA FREEDOM Act from Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) was introduced to significantly limit the collection and use of Americans' information under our nation's spying laws. The ACLU strongly supports the legislation.
By By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office
My five-year-old son Zander has had two brain surgeries. During each, doctors removed portions of his brain. The second surgery had a long recovery time because of the muscle loss that he suffered after being bedridden for weeks. It caused an infection that caused him to be on IV antibiotics at home. It took months before he could walk again.
By By Jennifer Welton, Zander's Mom
Last week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to preliminarily block the federal contraceptive rule in a case brought by a health food company, Eden Foods. The company argued that the federal rule that requires the inclusion of contraceptive coverage in health plans violates its religious liberty.
By By Brigitte Amiri, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project
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