NEW YORK - October 31 - Muslim, Arab, and South Asian men were targeted solely based on race, country of origin, and religion in post-9/11 immigration sweeps with the knowledge of former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller, according to a brief filed today with the Supreme Court by plaintiffs in Turkmen v. Ashcroft, Center for Constitutional Rights's (CCR) class action challenge.

PHILADELPHIA - October 30 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit will hear oral arguments today on the constitutionality of the city of Hazleton's local anti-immigrant law. The city's law would punish landlords and employers who are accused of renting to or hiring anyone the city classifies as an "illegal alien."

In a landmark ruling in July 2007, a federal district court struck down the anti-immigrant law as unconstitutional and in violation of federal civil rights laws. The Third Circuit is now considering Hazleton's appeal of that ruling.

WASHINGTON - October 24 - The American Civil Liberties Union calls on the Inspectors General of the Intelligence Agencies to respect the rule of law and make legally required domestic surveillance reports to Congress completely and publically available.

The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington Legislative Office of the ACLU: 

WASHINGTON - October 22 - The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) improvements of the privacy protections in its Secure Flight program; however, the ACLU detailed significant problems that remain in the passenger prescreening program.  

NEW YORK - October 21 - The American Civil Liberties Union today demanded information from the government about reports that an active military unit has been deployed inside the U.S. to help with "civil unrest" and "crowd control" - matters traditionally handled by civilian authorities. This deployment jeopardizes the longstanding separation between civilian and military government, and the public has a right to know where and why the unit has been deployed, according to an ACLU Freedom of Information request filed today.

SAN FRANCISCO - October 20 - Multi-faith leaders of the National Religious Leadership Roundtable (NRLR), convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, gathered today on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, where they sent a strong and unified call of support for the freedom to marry. They were joined by local faith leaders to amplify the message of treating all California citizens equally under the law. Californians will vote Nov. 4 on Proposition 8, an initiative aimed at eliminating the fundamental right of same-sex couples to marry.

WASHINGTON - October 17 - In a major victory for voting rights, the U.S. Supreme Court today issued an order protecting voters in Ohio from attempts to challenge their registrations based on small inaccuracies in government databases.