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For Immediate Release
October, 04 2011, 09:00am EDT
Tuesday October, 04 2011, 09:00am EDT
Contact:
Robyn Shepherd, ACLU national, (917) 302-7189 or (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Rana Elmir, ACLU of Michigan, (313) 578-6816; relmir@aclumich.org
Appeals Court to Hear Case of Counseling Student Dismissed from Program for Refusing to Work with LGBT Clients
ACLU Filed Amicus Brief That Argues Counselors Can’t Discriminate As Part of Professional Training at a Public University
CINCINNATI
CINCINNATI - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is slated to hear arguments today in the case of a graduate student who was removed from Eastern Michigan University's (EMU) counseling program because she refused to counsel lesbian, gay and bisexual clients on any issues relating to same-sex relationships during her clinical training.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan filed a friend-of-the-court brief in February supporting EMU's right to require the student, who was training to become a school counselor, to follow the curricular requirements including not to discriminate against potential clients.
"Students seeking counseling must be able to trust that they will receive the help they need, free from discrimination," said ACLU Deputy Legal Director Louise Melling. "Counselors are entitled to their own religious beliefs, but they do not have a right to discriminate as part of their professional training at a public university."
EMU requires its graduate counseling students to meet the university's clinical standards and abide by the American Counseling Association's Code of Ethics, which forbids counselors from discriminating in their clinical practice.
"EMU has a right to insist that its counseling students understand that mental health professionals have a duty to their clients first and foremost," said Michael J. Steinberg, legal director of the ACLU of Michigan. "Public school counselors should not be able to close their doors to gay students looking for guidance."
The ACLU's amicus brief can be found at: www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/ward-v-wilbanks-amicus-brief
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
ICE-IRS Deal Blasted as 'Bad Policy. Bad Economics. And Cruel.'
"The administration is shattering what little trust remains between immigrant communities and the government and putting critical revenue streams at risk," said one critic.
Apr 08, 2025
Migrant and privacy rights advocates this week are sounding the alarm over a deal signed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to hand sensitive taxpayer data over to immigration authorities as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's mass deportation effort.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) "to establish a clear and secure process to support law enforcement's efforts to combat illegal immigration," a Treasury Department spokesperson toldFox News, which reported on the development after a late Monday court filing.
"The bases for this MOU are founded in long-standing authorities granted by Congress, which serve to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans while streamlining the ability to pursue criminals," the spokesperson said. "After four years of [former President] Joe Biden flooding the nation with illegal aliens, President Trump's highest priority is to ensure the safety of the American people."
After weeks of warnings about a potential data transfer deal, it was revealed as part of a legal case brought by Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Immigrant Solidarity DuPage, Inclusive Action for the City, and Somos Un Pueblo Unido, which are represented by Alan Morrison, Public Citizen Litigation Group, and Raise the Floor Alliance.
"Taxpayer privacy is a cornerstone of the U.S. tax system," Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said in a Tuesday statement. "This move by the IRS is an unprecedented breach of taxpayer privacy laws and confidentiality, which has been respected by both political parties for decades."
"The Trump administration's terror tactic of using immigrants' tax data against them will drive some of our most vulnerable communities further underground," she warned. "If this taxpayer information isn't safe from the prying eyes of the Trump administration's goons, then no one's taxpayer information is safe."
Juliette Kayyem, a former Department of Homeland Security official now lecturing at the Harvard Kennedy School, wrote on social media: "Bad policy. Bad economics. And cruel. They are so desperate to get their deportation numbers up that they are doing this."
Multiple members of Congress also blasted the move. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) said that "the IRS should NEVER be weaponized to target immigrant families. This backdoor deal with ICE shatters decades of trust—and may be illegal."
"I will fight this with everything I've got," vowed Gomez, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. "No one should fear that filing taxes puts their family at risk."
Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) was among the critics who emphasized that the MOU doesn't just affect migrants.
"First things first: The impact of folks not filing their taxes because they are afraid of deportation would be detrimental to our economy," he explained. "Two: Immigrants pay taxes but do not benefit from the social programs that most taxpayers do. Three: Everyone should be concerned about the privacy implications here. This sets the precedent that the federal government can arbitrarily share your personal information with law enforcement. And it's just wrong."
Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) similarly said: "For decades, undocumented immigrants have trusted the IRS when it encouraged them to file. They've paid taxes in good faith, contributing nearly $100 BILLION per year and supporting social services they can't even access. Not only is this a total betrayal, but it's also illegal. We'll fight this."
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy also highlighted that "turning the IRS away from its job (collecting taxes) to instead focus on mass deportation efforts will mean less tax revenue collected on top of the harm done to families and communities affected by deportations."
In response to The New York Times' reporting on the deal, American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick pointed out on social media that the MOU "is, on its face, limited to criminal investigations (not deportation investigations)."
"There are many questions raised about this new [agreement], which seems to violate previous understandings of the laws requiring IRS not to share taxpayer information," he continued. "But at its heart it does not seem that the MOU permits ICE to ask for taxpayer data for deportation reasons."
"It seems primarily to be aimed at criminal investigations for willful failure to depart after the issuance of a removal order, a crime on the books which (until now) is virtually never prosecuted," Reichlin-Melnick added. "Despite the fact that this MOU is limited only to criminal law enforcement, it will likely have a chilling effect on undocumented taxpayers."
How the Trump administration actually proceeds remains to be seen. The court filing says no information has been shared between the agenices yet—but the deal comes as part of a wave of anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric from the president and his officials.
"With the Supreme Court greenlighting Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act and the administration now gaining access to sensitive IRS data, we continue to slip into a new era of authoritarianism in America," Beatriz Lopez, co-executive director of the Immigration Hub, said a Tuesday statement "The digital and physical dragnets that Trump is building mean millions of immigrants—many of whom have followed the law and paid their taxes for decades—are now vulnerable to indiscriminate brutality and quiet erasure with little opportunity for redress."
Lopez stressed that "undocumented immigrants already contribute billions to our economy—often paying a higher effective tax rate than 55 major corporations and some of the wealthiest individuals in America. By weaponizing private taxpayer data, the administration is shattering what little trust remains between immigrant communities and the government and putting critical revenue streams at risk."
"Coupled with Trump's xenophobic tariff threats and a $350 billion demand to fund mass disappearances and deportations, this is more than an attack on immigrants—it's a calculated effort to destabilize the country and remake its image," she concluded. "Congress must reject this funding and the authoritarian playbook behind it. This is not policy. It's punishment."
Keystone, 'Safest Pipeline in the World,' Ruptures—Again
President Donald Trump wants to revive Keystone XL, a highly controversial extension of the tar sands pipeline system, despite three massive leaks over the past eight years.
Apr 08, 2025
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
The Keystone pipeline—which carries hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil nearly 2,700 miles from the Alberta tar sands to refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma daily—was abruptly shut down Tuesday morning following a rupture in North Dakota, marking yet another accident along what proponents have called the "safest pipeline in the world."
South Bow, the Canadian company that manages the Keystone system, said it shut down the pipeline—which transports an average of around 624,000 barrels of crude oil per day—after detection systems sounded the alarm on a pressure drop. The company said the spill is confined to an agricultural field about 60 miles southwest of Fargo.
"The affected segment has been isolated, and operations and containment resources have been mobilized to site," the company said, according toThe Associated Press. "Our primary focus right now is the safety of onsite personnel and mitigating risk to the environment."
As the AP reported:
It wasn't clear what caused the rupture of the underground pipeline or the amount of crude oil released into the field. An employee working at the site near Fort Ransom heard a "mechanical bang" and shut down the pipeline within about two minutes, said Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager with the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. Oil surfaced about 300 yards (274 meters) south of the pump station in a field and emergency personnel responded, Suess said.
A proposed extension known as Keystone XL would have carried more tar sands oil—widely considered the world's dirtiest fuel—to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. Opponents warned of the danger of leaks, with a 2021 report from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office noting that there were 22 accidents along the conduit between 2010 and 2020. These include leaks of more than 100,000 gallons per spill in 2017, 2019, and 2022.
"Keystone's incident history illustrates the problematic pipeline's systemic issues," Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, said in a statement Tuesday. "The Keystone pipeline appears to be on track to hit its average of about a significant failure every year. It's time to address this pipeline's shortcomings."
Following more than a decade of pressure from climate, environmental, Indigenous, and other groups, then-President Joe Biden revoked Keystone XL's permit on his first day in office in January 2021. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a "drill, baby, drill" platform, now wants to revive Keystone XL.
Trump's Vision for US Now Includes Allowing Gun Sellers to Skip Background Checks
"These aren't just policy changes—they're deliberate choices that prioritize gun industry profits over American lives," said one gun violence prevention advocate.
Apr 08, 2025
A reported Trump administration plan to eliminate a "zero tolerance" policy for firearm sellers who violate gun safety regulations is aimed at benefiting two groups, said one gun violence prevention advocate: "The gun sellers knowingly endangering communities, and the gun CEOs getting rich off of weapons sales to criminals."
"It absolutely does not benefit the American people," said Emma Brown, executive director of Giffords.
Attorney General Pam Bondi is expected this week to announce the reversal of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) policy, which was implemented by the Biden administration to hold gun sellers accountable for falsifying records, skipping background checks, and otherwise disobeying regulations meant to keep guns out of the hands of people who pose a danger to others or themselves.
As The New York Timesreported Monday, President Donald Trump plans to order FBI Director Kash Patel, the interim leader of ATF, to move toward eliminating a ban on pistol braces, which can convert handguns to weapons that resemble rifles, and a rule requiring background checks for private gun sales.
Enforcement of the rules has been down since Trump took office in January, with federal courts moving to freeze and weaken the two ATF rules.
"This administration is systematically dismantling the safeguards designed to keep weapons out of dangerous hands."
But Brown said the official repeal of the regulations would embolden "reckless" gun sellers.
"The impact here is simple: Putting gun dealers who break the law back in business will increase crime," said Brown. "Dealers who are willing to sell guns to traffickers and criminals have been given our president's seal of approval at the cost of Americans' safety."
Under the Biden administration, the rules helped empower the ATF to revoke 170 gun seller licenses—more than the agency revoked in the previous three years combined, said Giffords.
"With the reversal of the 'zero tolerance' policy federal firearms licensees who are violating the law will stay in business, allowing more illegal firearms to flow into communities," warned the group.
The gun violence prevention group Brady called the planned repeal "a gift to the gun industry," noting that homicide rates soared during Trump's first term and projecting that gun crimes will once again "skyrocket" after Bondi ends the zero tolerance policy.
"The data is clear and compelling—90% of crime guns come from just 5% of dealers," said Kris Brown, president of Brady. "By dismantling this policy, the Trump administration is deliberately empowering these irresponsible gun dealers to operate without accountability, effectively arming criminals who will use these weapons to terrorize our communities."
"This administration is systematically dismantling the safeguards designed to keep weapons out of dangerous hands," she added. "These aren't just policy changes—they're deliberate choices that prioritize gun industry profits over American lives."
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