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For Immediate Release
March, 24 2009, 01:55pm EDT
Contact:
Matthew Allee, (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org
House Votes to Create Privacy Officers at DHS
Positions Needed to Curb Significant Potential for Abuse, Says ACLU
WASHINGTON
The House of Representatives passed legislation today that creates a privacy official for each division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If established by law, these new positions would be responsible for ensuring privacy laws and regulations are followed by DHS.
H.R. 1617, sponsored by Representative Christopher Carney (D-PA), will now go to the Senate for consideration. The American Civil Liberties Union welcomes this legislation and calls for its swift passage there.
The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
"Given the significant authority the Department of Homeland Security has amassed since its creation, there is considerable potential for abuse and neglect of the individual privacy protections granted by the Constitution. It is the right to privacy that ensures the freedom for Americans to live how we choose. The House of Representatives took an important step today toward securing these liberties by voting to install privacy officers throughout DHS.
"Representative Carney's bill would ensure that our privacy will not be neglected as laws and policies are implemented and carried out. Americans need these officials in place to protect the privacy rights we all rely on, and to raise red flags when the potential for abuse arises."
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
UK Labour to Let Authorities Take Jewelry From Asylum-Seekers as Part of Sweeping New Immigration Crackdown
"Labour won't redistribute wealth from billionaires," said former party Leader Jeremy Corbyn. "But they will seize belongings from those fleeing war and persecution."
Nov 17, 2025
A new asylum policy announced Monday by the UK Labour Party will allow authorities to confiscate the jewelry and other belongings of asylum-seekers in order to pay for their claims to be processed.
The policy, which some critics said was "reminiscent of the Nazi era," was just one part of the Labour Party's total overhaul of the nation's asylum system, which it says must be made much more restrictive in order to fend off rising support for the far-right.
In a policy paper released Monday, the government announced that it would seek to make the status of many refugees temporary and gave the government new powers to deport refugees if it determines it to be safe. It also revoked policies requiring the government to provide housing and legal support to those fleeing persecution, while extending the amount of time they need to wait for permanent residency to 20 years, up from just five, for those who arrive illegally.
The UK government also said it will attempt to change the way judges interpret human rights law to more seamlessly carry out deportations, including stopping immigrants from using their rights to family life under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to avoid deportation.
In an article for the Guardian published Sunday, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called the reforms "the most significant and comprehensive changes to our asylum system in a generation." She said they were necessary because the increase in migration to the UK had stirred up "dark forces" in the country that are "seeking to turn that anger into hate."
Nigel Farage, the leader of the far-right Reform UK Party, is leading national polls on the back of a viciously anti-immigrant campaign that has included calls to abolish the UK's main pathway for immigrants to become permanent residents, known as "leave to remain."
Meanwhile, in September, over 100,000 people gathered in London for an anti-immigrant rally led by Tommy Robinson, a notorious far-right figure who founded the anti-Muslim English Defence League (EDL). The event saw at least 26 police officers injured by protesters.
Last summer, riots swept the UK after false claims—spread by Robinson, Farage, and other far-right figures—that the perpetrator of the fatal stabbing of two young girls and their caretaker had been a Muslim asylum-seeker. A hotel housing asylum-seekers was set on fire, mosques were vandalised and destroyed, and several immigrants and other racial minorities were brutally beaten.
Mahmood said that if changes are not made to the asylum system, "we risk losing popular consent for having an asylum system at all."
But as critics were quick to point out, the far-right merely took Labour's crackdown as a sign that it is winning the war for hearts and minds.
Robinson gloated to his followers that "the Overton window has been obliterated, well done patriots!" while Farage chortled that Mahmood "sounds like a Reform supporter."
Many members of the Labour coalition expressed outrage at their ostensibly Liberal Party's bending to the far-right.
"The government should be ashamed that its migration policies are being cheered on by Tommy Robinson and Reform," said Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East. "Instead of standing up to anti-migrant hate, this is laying the foundations for the far-right."
In a speech in Parliament, she chided the home secretary's policy overhaul, calling it "dystopian."
"It's shameful that a Labour government is ripping up the rights and protections of people who have endured unimaginable trauma," she said. "Is this how we'd want to be treated if we were fleeing for our lives? Of course not."
The UK has signed treaties, including the ECHR, obligating it to process the claims of those who claim asylum because they face persecution in their home countries based on race, religion, nationality, group membership, or political opinion. According to data from the Home Office, over 111,000 people claimed asylum in the year from June 2024-25, more than double the number who did in 2019.
The spike came as the number of people displaced worldwide reached an all-time high of over 123.2 million at the end of 2024, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council, with desperate people seeking safety from escalating conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and across the Middle East.
In her op-ed, Mahmood lamented that "the burden borne by taxpayers has been unfair." However, as progressive commentator Owen Jones pointed out, the UK takes in far fewer asylum-seekers than its peers: "Last year, Germany took over twice as many asylum-seekers as the UK. France, Italy, and Spain took 1.5 times as many. Per capita, we take fewer than most EU countries. Poorer countries such as Greece take proportionately more than we do."
The Labour government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, already boasts that it has deported more than 50,000 people in the UK illegally since it came to power in 2024, but it has predictably done little to satiate the far-right, which has only continued to gain momentum in polls despite the crackdown.
Under the new rules, it is expected that the government will be able to fast-track many more deportations, particularly of families with children.
The jewelry rule, meanwhile, has become a potent symbol of how the Labour Party has shifted away from its promises of economic egalitarianism toward austerity and punishment of the most vulnerable.
"Labour won't redistribute wealth from billionaires," said former party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is now an independent MP. "But they will seize belongings from those fleeing war and persecution."
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As House Vote Looms, State Lawmakers Challenge Trump to Release Epstein Files
"Your eleventh-hour decision to not fight a vote in the House that you were certainly going to lose is yet another dodge," Democratic legislators wrote to the president, a former friend of the dead criminal.
Nov 17, 2025
After President Donald Trump's sudden about-face on the US House of Representatives' imminent vote to force the release of files on deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a group of state legislators on Monday urged Trump to prove he is serious by not waiting for Congress to make public materials from the federal case against his former friend.
In a letter provided to Common Dreams by the group Defend America Action, the 15 elected Democrats called on Trump and his administration to "put the issue of the Epstein files to bed once and for all" and "focus on what the American people are concerned about: the affordability crisis which has exploded on your watch."
"Just a few weeks ago, Americans from Georgia to Virginia to New Jersey registered their dissatisfaction with your economic performance with overwhelming victories for Democrats up and down the ballot," they noted. "That should've been a wake-up call for you and your administration, but instead, you've turned to an all-too familiar strategy of gaslighting the American people with tales of a booming economy that don't match reality."
Americans are falling behind on utility bills and car loan payments as job growth has ground to a halt and inflation—driven in part by Trump's sweeping tariffs—is costing average US households at least hundreds of dollars a month.
"We need bipartisan solutions to the cost of living crisis, not multiple congressional committees, investigations, and precious floor time devoted to files related to Jeffrey Epstein, which you could release with the stroke of a pen."
US House Democrats and a few Republicans have long fought to make the Department of Justice release its files on the late financier, which Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) recently pushed off for weeks by refusing to swear in Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.)—a delay he tried to blame on the government shutdown.
As the shutdown standoff over a looming healthcare crisis came to an end, Johnson finally administered the oath of office to Grijalva, who swiftly became the crucial 218th signature on a discharge petition to force a vote on the Epstein files. While her decision set up a December vote, Johnson then moved up the timeline.
With many House Republicans expected to vote for releasing the files as early as Tuesday, Trump sent shockwaves through the US on Sunday by suddenly declaring his support for the disclosure. He doubled down on Monday, telling reporters that he would sign the bill if it reached his desk but also returning to his claim that "the whole thing is a hoax."
Trump on if he'll sign an Epstein files release bill: "We have nothing to do with Epstein. The Democrats do. All of his friends were Democrats. You look at this Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, Clinton... all I want is I want for people to recognize the great job I've done on pricing, on affordability."
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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) November 17, 2025 at 3:20 PM
As the state legislators wrote to Trump: "You have called the issue of the Epstein files a 'hoax,' and dismissed the numerous congressional efforts underway to pursue transparency, accountability, and justice for the hundreds of victims who suffered at Epstein's hands. This issue has again overtaken Washington, DC, and you have mobilized enormous government resources, up to and including meetings in the ultra-secure Situation Room, to try to prevent the files' release."
"Your eleventh-hour decision to not fight a vote in the House that you were certainly going to lose is yet another dodge—you could order the full release of the files today so that we can all move forward and deal with the issues our voters and yours care about: making life affordable for American families," they argued. "Those priorities should be addressing the skyrocketing costs that are keeping families up at night: housing, food, energy, and healthcare."
"We need bipartisan solutions to the cost of living crisis, not multiple congressional committees, investigations, and precious floor time devoted to files related to Jeffrey Epstein, which you could release with the stroke of a pen," they continued, stressing the need for "good partners" and "good policies" at the federal level to aid American families struggling with soaring prices. "Release the files and let's get on with the business of the American people."
Signatories to the letter include Iowa Rep. Kenneth Croken, Vermont Rep. William Greer, Colorado Sen. Cathy Kipp, Michigan Rep. Stephen Wooden, and Kentucky Rep. Lisa Willner. It is also signed by Pennsylvania Reps. Danilo Burgos and Arvind Venkat, Maryland Dels. Ashanti Martinez and Vaughn Stewart, Wisconsin's Sen. Melissa Ratcliff and Rep. Ryan Clancy, and four lawmakers from New Hampshire: Reps. John Cloutier, Chris McAleer, Terri O'Rorke, and Terry Spahr.
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Campaigners Urge Countries to Seize 'Momentum' at COP30 and Deliver Roadmap for Green Transition
"We need to make sure that any and all plans towards a fossil fuel-free future are built with community and frontline needs at the heart, and implemented in a way that does not leave vulnerable communities behind."
Nov 17, 2025
Despite concerns over the presence of hundreds of corporate lobbyists peddling "false solutions" at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, campaigners on Monday expressed optimism about the "remarkable speed" with which global support has grown at the summit for a Transition Away From Fossil Fuels Roadmap.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opened the Leader's Summit on November 6 with a call for the TAFF Roadmap, which would build on the 2023 conference's (COP28) promise to “transition away from fossil fuels” in a “just, orderly, and equitable manner."
He urged leaders to map out how their countries will "overcome dependence on fossil fuels," reverse deforestation, and mobilize resources to achieve those goals, as the presidencies of this year's conference (COP30) and last year's released a Baku to Belém Roadmap with a plan to mobilize $1.3 trillion per year in climate finance for developing countries.
350.org found on Monday that within nine days, support for the TAFF Roadmap grew from one to 62 countries.
Suluafi Brianna Fruean, a 350.org Pacific Council elder, acknowledged that a call for "a transition away from fossil fuels is not a new concept for the Pacific, it’s a demand we’ve made at every COP and every room we’ve been in."
Still, she said, "the growing support for a roadmap to this reality is a sign that the age of fossil fuels is over. We need to make sure that any and all plans towards a fossil fuel-free future are built with community and frontline needs at the heart, and implemented in a way that does not leave vulnerable communities behind."
"The presidency calls on developing countries to lead, prioritize public, grant-based, concessional finance to protect the world’s most vulnerable, and break the vicious debt cycle. However, it misses the urgency to simplify direct access to finance for communities, especially Indigenous peoples."
350.org analyzed public statements and written inputs from countries and country groups to the COP30 presidency, and released its analysis of the conference's momentum as the Brazil presidency released its "consultation text."
That document lays out options for a final agreement at COP30, including "the ingredients for a highly ambitious outcome," said 350.org.
Options in the text include establishing a three-year program to implement Article 9.1 in the Paris Agreement, which requires wealthy countries to finance adaptation and a transition away from fossil fuels for the Global South; tripling adaptation finance; and implementing Article 3.5 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which requires parties to support an economic system that leads "to sustainable economic growth and development in all parties... thus enabling them better to address the problems of climate change."
“Finance is the engine of climate action. The presidency calls on developing countries to lead, prioritize public, grant-based, concessional finance to protect the world’s most vulnerable, and break the vicious debt cycle," said Fanny Petitbon, France team lead for 350.org. "However, it misses the urgency to simplify direct access to finance for communities, especially Indigenous peoples, who hold solutions on the ground yet face enormous barriers to securing the funds needed to scale them up."
A second package of options is set to be released in the coming days and "will cover the more technical negotiating areas," according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Andreas Sieber, associate director of policy and campaigns at 350.org, credited Lula with injecting "real momentum into a global roadmap to move away from fossil fuels."
But Sieber noted that Brazil recently gave its state-owned oil and gas company, Petrobras, license to drill a well in the Amazon rainforest, and Brazil is still one of the top 10 producers of crude oil globally.
"Lula spoke powerfully about justice and cooperation in a divided world, highlighting the need to get rid of fossil fuels and accelerate the energy transition," Sieber told Argus Media after the Leaders' Summit. "But he cannot be both a champion of climate justice and one of the world's biggest oil expanders."
350.org added that in a TAFF Roadmap, "finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building must be central pillars—not peripheral details—if the transition is to lift up communities rather than deepen inequality."
WWF also applauded the "momentum" at COP30, and urged "decisive political leadership" in order to "get back on track to the 1.5°C Paris Agreement temperature limit."
Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF global climate and energy lead, and the president of COP20, said that "COP30 could make history by agreeing on roadmaps for both a transition away from fossil fuels and to combat deforestation. It must also respond to the emissions gap in national climate plans, and make advances on finance, including to help countries adapt to climate change."
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