Hina Shamsi
Hina Shamsi is the director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Security Project
Articles by this author
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Views Wednesday, March 13, 2019 Trump Pledged to End ‘Endless Wars.’ His Executive Order Suggests Just the Opposite In an executive order last week, President Trump ended a requirement for the government to tell the public its official count of civilians killed by U.S. military and CIA lethal strikes in countries where we are not at war. The effect is that our government will continue killing people abroad with... Read more |
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Views Thursday, August 30, 2018 On National Security, Kavanaugh Has a History of Extreme Deference to the President A week before his confirmation hearing, the public record on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s possible involvement in some of the Bush administration’s most abusive policies and programs is woefully incomplete. Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, served in the White House soon after... Read more |
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Views Friday, July 13, 2018 The Shadow of Torture Behind Trump’s Britain Visit As President Trump visits the United Kingdom, the focus has been on strained trans-Atlantic relations, his intervention in domestic politics, and massive public protests. A different, diplomatically-couched protest has received less attention but sends a consequential signal about the so-called “... Read more |
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Views Sunday, April 09, 2017 U.S. Strikes in Syria Are an Illegal Response to Atrocity No one disputes that Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians is illegal, immoral, and unacceptable. But Assad’s illegality does not excuse illegality in response. In the face of constitutional law barring hostile use of force without congressional authorization, and... Read more |
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Views Thursday, March 16, 2017 Trump is Considering Expanding Killing Powers Abroad. The Consequences for Civilians Will be Disastrous. When the Obama administration put in place guidelines meant to restrain lethal drone and other killings abroad, we were concerned that they set too low a bar, and that even that low bar could easily be overturned. Now, our worst fears are coming to a head. According to a recent New York Times... Read more |
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Views Wednesday, February 08, 2017 Flying Home From Abroad, a Border Agent Stopped and Questioned Me … About My Work for the ACLU Last week, I was flying home from a work trip and faced Customs and Border Protection questioning unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in over 25 years of travel into and out of this country, including more than 10 years of travel for my work as an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union... Read more |
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Views Monday, October 17, 2016 Finally Free: ‘Guantánamo Diary’ Author Released After 14 Years Without Charge After unlawfully imprisoning our client Mohamedou Ould Slahi at Guantánamo for 14 years without charge or trial, the U.S. government has finally released him. He is now home in his native Mauritania. We are overjoyed for Mohamedou and his loving family, who have been anxiously awaiting his return... Read more |
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Views Thursday, June 02, 2016 Hearing Thursday Could Clear Path to Freedom for ‘Guantánamo Diary’ Author Mohamedou Slahi has been unlawfully detained for 14 years at Guantánamo Bay and is the author of a best-selling book about the ordeal he suffered there. A hearing Thursday could result in his freedom. After years of waiting and litigation, Slahi will finally receive a Periodic Review Board hearing... Read more |
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Views Thursday, February 11, 2016 Why I Have Hope For American Muslim Equality President Obama gave a milestone speech in defense of American Muslims and religious freedom at a mosque last week. And I had a hard time listening to it. That may seem counter-intuitive at a time when anti-Muslim hysteria, discrimination, and violence have reached such a crisis stage that The... Read more |
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Views Thursday, January 07, 2016 Landmark Settlement in Challenge to NYPD Surveillance of New York Muslims: What You Need to Know A settlement in our challenge to NYPD surveillance of New York Muslims was announced today, heralding new safeguards to protect against bias-based and unjustified investigations of Muslim and other minority communities. The settlement was announced in Raza v. City of New York , a lawsuit on behalf... Read more |