July, 28 2010, 03:40pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Maria Archuleta, ACLU, (212) 519-7808 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Jon O'Neill, ACLU of Arizona, (602) 773-6007; joneill@acluaz.org
Laura Rodriguez, MALDEF, (310) 956-2425; lrodriguez@maldef.org
Adela de la Torre, NILC, (213) 400-7822; delatorre@nilc.org
Karin Wang, APALC, (213) 241-0234 or 999-5640; kwang@apalc.org
Marco Loera, NDLON, (602) 373-3859; mloera@ndlon.org
Leila McDowell, NAACP, (202) 463-2940 ext. 1021; lmcdowell@naacpnet.org
Court Blocks Implementation Of Key Sections Of Arizona's Racial Profiling Law
PHOENIX
Ensuring
that Arizona law enforcement will not be required to demand "papers"
from people they stop who they suspect are "unlawfully present" in the
U.S., a federal court in Phoenix today blocked key provisions of
Arizona's racial profiling law, scheduled to go into effect on July 29,
pending a final court ruling on its constitutionality. The ruling came
in a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice challenging the Arizona
law. The ruling vindicates similar claims made by the American Civil
Liberties Union and a coalition of civil rights groups in a separate
lawsuit challenging the discriminatory measure.
The blocked sections under the law include the following provisions:
- The requirement that police
officers investigate the immigration status of all individuals they stop
if the officers suspect that they are in the country unlawfully; - The mandatory detention of
individuals who are arrested, even for minor offenses that would
normally result in a ticket, if they cannot verify that they are
authorized to be in the U.S.; - The new statute imposing
state criminal penalties for non-citizens failing to register with the
Department of Homeland Security or failing to carry registration
documents; - The provision for warrantless
arrest of individuals who are deemed by state or local police officers
to be "removable" from the U.S.; and - The new state statute making it a crime for alleged undocumented immigrants to work.
The court did not block the
provision that criminalizes the solicitation of employment on public
streets or the provision that forbids local police agencies from
adopting policies that limit or restrict enforcement of federal
immigration laws.
The civil rights coalition that also
challenged the law includes the ACLU, MALDEF, National Immigration Law
Center (NILC), Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) - a member of
the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, ACLU of Arizona,
National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The law firm
of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP is acting as co-counsel in the case.
The coalition's lawsuit, filed on May
17 and argued the same day as the Justice Department's case, challenges
SB 1070 on legal grounds raised in the Justice Department's lawsuit as
well as others including that the law invites the racial profiling of
people of color, violates the First Amendment and interferes with
federal law. According to the coalition, the law would subject massive
numbers of people - both citizens and non-citizens - to racial
profiling, improper investigations and detention.
The following quotes can be attributed to members of the coalition, as listed below.
Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU:
"This is a major step that will help
protect the residents of Arizona against racial profiling and
discrimination, and the Obama administration deserves praise for its
principled decision to challenge this law despite pressure to stay
silent. A single state's frustration with federal policy cannot be
allowed to hijack federal authority or dictate federal priorities in
ways that impede effective law enforcement, threaten the rights of
citizens and non-citizens alike and violate core American values."
Nina Perales, Regional Counsel Southwest Region for MALDEF:
"Today's ruling guts the
unconstitutional immigration scheme that Arizona wanted to establish.
The judge's decision further shows that SB 1070 is an unconstitutional
attempt by the state to take over the federal immigration system within
Arizona's borders. States around the nation should take heed that any
similar efforts will not succeed."
Linton Joaquin, General Counsel of NILC:
"With today's ruling, Judge Bolton
enjoined the most egregious provisions of SB 1070, a dangerous enactment
that threatens the fundamental rights of countless Arizonans and
visitors. Other states following in Arizona's misguided footsteps should
consider themselves forewarned: attempts to trample on the
constitutional rights of communities of color in this country must not
be permitted. We look forward to showing, through our lawsuit, that this
pernicious law should be taken off Arizona's books permanently."
Alessandra Soler Meetze, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arizona:
"This is a first step toward a
victory for civil liberties in Arizona. We eagerly anticipate proving to
the court that this reactionary racial profiling law violates the
Constitution so we can begin the real work of crafting practical
solutions that address our nation's immigration concerns rather than
violate fundamental American values."
Julie Su, Litigation Director of APALC:
"We applaud the judge for seeing the
imminent danger of having this law enacted. SB 1070 presents a distinct
and separate immigration scheme that conflicts with federal law and
policy, and would have a devastating impact on Asian Americans, Pacific
Islanders, Latinos and other people of color in Arizona. Indeed, some of
those negative effects have already been felt. This ruling makes clear
that intimidation of immigrant communities, pretextual stops to ask for
'papers,' and rhetoric about who belongs in Arizona and who doesn't
under the guise of enforcing SB 1070 should cease immediately."
Pablo Alvarado, Director of NDLON:
"If history is any guide, the road
ahead in Arizona will be a long one. Today was one stop along the way,
and we while we have complete faith in the legal process to ultimately
defend the United States Constitution, we will not declare victory until
SB 1070 is stopped in its entirety and until civil rights of all people
in Arizona are fully protected."
Organizations and attorneys on the case, Friendly House et al. v. Whiting et al., include:
- ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project: Lucas Guttentag, Omar Jadwat, Cecillia Wang, Tanaz Moghadam and Harini P. Raghupathi;
- MALDEF:
Perales, Thomas A. Saenz, Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon, Victor Viramontes,
Gladys Limon, Nicholas Espiritu and Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal; - NILC: Joaquin, Karen Tumlin, Nora A. Preciado, Melissa S. Keaney, Vivek Mittal and Ghazal Tajmiri;
- ACLU Foundation of Arizona: Dan Pochoda and Annie Lai;
- APALC: Su, Ronald Lee, Yungsuhn Park, Connie Choi and Carmina Ocampo;
- NDLON: Chris Newman;
- NAACP: Laura Blackburne;
- Munger Tolles & Olson LLP: Bradley S. Phillips, Paul J. Watford, Joseph J. Ybarra, Susan T. Boyd, Yuval Miller, Elisabeth J. Neubauer and Benjamin Maro;
- Roush, McCracken, Guerrero, Miller & Ortega: Daniel R. Ortega, Jr.
The motion for a preliminary injunction can be found at: www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights-racial-justice/friendly-house-et-al-v-whiting-et-al-plaintiffs-motion-preliminary-
A new ACLU video about how the SB 1070 invites racial profiling can be found at: www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights-racial-justice/would-you-ask-man-his-papers
More information about the Arizona law can be found at: www.aclu.org/what-happens-arizona-stops-arizona
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(212) 549-2666LATEST NEWS
Privacy Defenders Decry 'Spy Draft' in Section 702 Renewal Advanced by Senate
"It's not about who RISAA allows the government to spy on, it's about who RISAA allows the government to force to spy," explained one critic.
Apr 18, 2024
Civil liberties defenders on Thursday decried the U.S. Senate's advancement of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, which critics say lawmakers are trying to ram through without protection against warrantless surveillance and with a provision that would effectively make every American a spy whether they like it or not.
Senators voted 67-32 in favor of a cloture motion to begin voting on RISAA, a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires on Friday. FISA—a highly controversial law that has been abused hundreds of thousands of times—allows warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. citizens but also often sweeps up Americans' communication data in the process.
In a 273-147 vote last week, House lawmakers passed RISAA, including an amendment critics say dramatically expands the government's unchecked surveillance authority by compelling a wide range of individuals and organizations—including businesses and the media—to cooperate in government spying operations.
This so-called "Make Everyone a Spy" clause would allow the attorney general or director of national intelligence to force electronic communication service providers to "immediately provide... all information, facilities, or assistance" the government deems necessary.
"This bill would basically allow the government to institute a spy draft," Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, warned Thursday. "It will lead to significant distrust between journalists and sources, not to mention everyone else."
"It's not about who RISAA allows the government to spy on, it's about who RISAA allows the government to force to spy," he added. "Regardless of whether the end target of the surveillance is a foreigner, it's indisputable that the people the government can enlist to conduct the surveillance are Americans. And what's more, these civilians ordered to spy would be gagged and sworn to secrecy under the law."
In addition to the "Make Everyone a Spy" provision, civil libertarians have sounded the alarm over the House lawmakers' rejection of an amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to the legislation.
Critics accuse Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and colleagues including Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) of trying to rush a vote on RISAA while disingenuously claiming Section 702's powers will expire with the law on Friday. That's a misleading claim, as a national security court earlier this month approved the government's request to continue a disputed surveillance program even if Section 702 lapses.
"There is simply no defense of Majority Leader Schumer and Sen. Warner's duplicity," Sean Vitka, policy director at the progressive advocacy group Demand Progress, said in a statement. "House Intelligence Committee leaders poisoned this bill with one of the most repugnant surveillance expansions in history, and apparently the administration was too busy attacking commonsense privacy protections to notice. They know it, we know it, and now the American people know it."
"There can be no mistake: Sens. Schumer and Warner just helped hand the next president an unspeakably dangerous weapon that will be used against their own constituents," Vitka added. "And there is only one vote left to stop it."
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)—who
said earlier this week that the bill would dragoon the American people into becoming "an agent for Big Brother"—on Thursday argued that "this issue demands a debate about meaningful reforms, not a rushed vote to rubber-stamp more warrantless government surveillance powers."
In an attempt to tackle the warrantless surveillance issue, Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) on Thursday proposed a RISAA amendment that would require the government to obtain a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before accessing Americans' private communications.
However, the amendment contains exceptions to the warrant requirement in the event of unspecified emergencies and cyberattacks.
"If the government wants to spy on the private communications of Americans, they should be required to get approval from a judge—just as our Founders intended," Durbin said in a statement. "Congress has a responsibility to the American people to get this right."
The Biden administration and U.S. intelligence agencies vehemently oppose the Durbin-Cramer amendment. The White House called the measure "a reckless policy choice contrary to the key lessons of 9/11 and not grounded in any constitutional requirement or statute."
"The amendment outright bars the government from gaining access to lawfully collected information using terms associated with U.S. persons," the administration added. "Exceptions to that prohibition are narrow and unworkable. They are insufficient to protect our national security."
On Wednesday, the House also passed the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act, which would prohibit the government from buying Americans' information from data brokers if it would otherwise need a warrant to obtain the data, which includes location and internet records. The Senate will now take up FANFSA.
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'The Opposite of Leadership': US Vetoes Palestine's UN Membership
Palestine's permanent observer at the United Nations said the resolution's failure "will not break our will, and it will not defeat our determination."
Apr 18, 2024
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday used the country's veto power at the United Nations Security Council to block Palestine's bid to become a full member of the U.N.
While 12 nations voted in favor of Palestinian membership and two abstained, the United States is one of five countries—along with China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom—who have veto authority at the Security Council.
Since Israel launched what the International Court of Justice has said is a "plausibly" genocidal assault of the Gaza Strip in response to a Hamas-led October attack, the Biden administration has blocked three cease-fire resolutions at the Security Council. Under mounting global pressure, the U.S. finally abstained last month, allowing a cease-fire measure to pass.
In the lead-up to Thursday's vote, the Biden administration was pressuring other countries to oppose the Palestinian Authority's renewed membership effort so it could possibly avoid a veto, according to leaked cables obtained by The Intercept.
"Take a moment to ponder how isolated Biden has made the U.S.," said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, after the veto. "Biden lobbied Japan, South Korea, and Ecuador HARD to oppose the Palestine resolution so that the U.S. wouldn't have to veto. They refused. So Biden cast his fourth veto in seven months (!!) This is the opposite of leadership."
In addition to the nations Parsi highlighted, Algeria, China, France, Guyana, Malta, Mozambique, Russia, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia voted for giving Palestine full U.N. membership while Switzerland and the United Kingdom abstained.
After the vote, U.N. Newsreported on remarks from Riyad Mansour, a U.N. permanent observer for the state of Palestine:
"We came to the Security Council today as an important historic moment, regionally and internationally, so that we could salvage what can be saved. We place you before a historic responsibility to establish the foundations of a just and comprehensive peace in our region."
Council members were given the opportunity "to revive the hope that has been lost among our people" and to translate their commitment towards a two-state solution into firm action "that cannot be maneuvered or retracted," and the majority of council members "have risen to the level of this historic moment, and they have stood on the side of justice and freedom and hope, in line with the ethical and humanitarian and legal principles that must govern our world and in line with simple logic."
"The fact that this resolution did not pass will not break our will, and it will not defeat our determination," Mansour added. "We will not stop in our effort. The state of Palestine is inevitable. It is real. Perhaps they see it as far away, but we see it as near, and we are the faithful."
Parsi said that "a Western-friendly senior Global South diplomat" told him of Biden's veto: "Whatever agonizing claim the U.S. had to lead a self-appointed free world has died a very loud public death on the Security Council horseshoe tonight. YOU CAN'T LEAD IF YOU CAN'T LISTEN."
Biden, a Democrat seeking reelection in November, has faced fierce criticism in the United States and around the world for U.S. complicity in Israel's war on Gaza—which Hamas, not the Palestinian Authority, has controlled for nearly two decades. In under seven months, Israeli forces have killed 33,970 Palestinians, injured another 76,770, displaced most of the besieged enclave's 2.3 million population, devastated civilian infrastructure, and severely limited the flow of lifesaving humanitarian assistance.
Israel—which already got $3.8 billion in annual U.S. military aid before October 7—continues to receive weapons support from the Biden administration, even as a growing chorus of critics, including some Democrats in Congress, argues that the arms transfers violate U.S. and international law.
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'Shameful': Columbia Greenlights Police Crackdown on Anti-War Encampment
Even after dozens of students were arrested, hundreds "rushed to take the place of their classmates" and continued the protest.
Apr 18, 2024
The arrests of dozens of Columbia University and Barnard College students on Thursday "galvanized" other supporters of Palestinian rights on the campuses, as hundreds of students occupied the school's western lawn after New York City police filled at least two buses with protesters who had been detained for setting up an encampment.
"Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest," chanted hundreds of students as they marched around the area where organizers had set up a tent encampment early Wednesday morning.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik informed the campus community on Thursday that she had authorized the police to clear the encampment.
As it has been in the past, the school has become a center of anti-war protests—and crackdowns by school officials and the police—since Israel began its bombardment of Gaza in October.
Pro-Palestinian students and alumni have demanded that Columbia divest from companies that profit from Israel's apartheid policies in the occupied Palestinian territories and cancel its dual degree program with Tel Aviv University.
In response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Columbia in November suspended the campus chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine—an action that pushed the New York Civil Liberties Union and Palestine Legal to file a lawsuit on behalf of the students last month.
On Thursday, police and Columbia employees took down about 50 tents that had been up for more than a day and disposed of them in trash cans and alleyways—but The New York Times reported later that "demonstrators repitched a couple of tents, and ... recovered the main signage from the encampment as well," while hundreds of students were "still gathered and chanting on the south side of the grass."
The arrests came a day after Shafik testified before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce about antisemitism on campus.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), whose daughter, Isra Hirsi, was among the Barnard students who were suspended on Thursday for participating in the encampment protest, questioned Shafik about whether antisemitic protests have actually taken place at Columbia, prompting the president to say there have not.
"There has been a rise in targeting and harassment against anti-war protesters, because it's been pro-war and anti-war protesters is what it seems, like, correct?" asked Omar.
"Correct," replied Shafik.
On Thursday, Omar posted on social media two images of protesters at Columbia: one from the encampment this week, and one from 1968, when students protested the U.S. war in Vietnam.
New York City Council member Tiffany Cabán was among those who condemned the university's crackdown on the protests on Thursday.
"Suspending and arresting Columbia/Barnard student activists and disbanding student organizations—including Jewish students and organizations—doesn't combat antisemitism or increase safety," said Cabán. "All it does is punish and intimidate those who believe in human rights for Palestinians. Shameful."
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