May, 09 2017, 11:15am EDT
ACLU Issues Texas 'Travel Advisory'
Traveling to Texas May Result in Violation of Constitutional Rights, ACLU Warns
WASHINGTON
The American Civil Liberties Union issued a "travel alert" today informing anyone planning to travel to Texas in the near future to anticipate the possible violation of their constitutional rights when stopped by law enforcement.
The alert comes amid the passing of a Texas law known as SB4. The law gives a green light to police officers in the state to investigate a person's immigration status during a routine traffic stop, leading to widespread racial profiling, baseless scrutiny, and illegal arrests of citizens and non-citizens alike presumed to be "foreign" based on how they look or sound. The travel alert applies to all travelers to Texas, including U.S. travelers from other states and U.S. citizens. In addition, this alert applies to all encounters with federal, state, county law enforcement including local police and sheriffs.
"The ACLU's goal is to protect all Texans and all people traveling through Texas -- regardless of their immigration status -- from illegal harassment by law enforcement," said Lorella Praeli, ACLU director of immigration policy and campaigns. "Texas is a state with deep Mexican roots and home to immigrants from all walks of life. Many of us fit the racial profile that the police in Texas will use to enforce Trump's draconian deportation force."
SB4 requires Texas law enforcement to comply with the federal government's constitutionally flawed use of detainer requests, which ask local law enforcement to hold people for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), even when they lack the legal authority to do so.
"We plan to fight this racist and wrongheaded law in the courts and in the streets. Until we defeat it, everyone traveling in or to Texas needs to be aware of what's in store for them," said Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas. "The Lone Star State will become a 'show me your papers' state, where every interaction with law enforcement can become a citizenship interrogation and potentially an illegal arrest."
Between 2008 and 2012, ICE requested local law enforcement to hold 834 U.S. citizens, some of whom subsequently spent days in jail as a result. Under SB4, the state of Texas is placing the rights of its residents, including U.S. citizens, in extreme jeopardy.
"It is simply a matter of time before illegal arrests occur. Local law enforcement will have to decide between violating a person's rights and being severely fined, thrown in jail, or even being removed from office for choosing not to do so," said Burke.
Praeli said, "Everyone has constitutional rights in this country. The state of Texas, and every law enforcement officer, must respect those rights. The ACLU stands ready to safeguard those freedoms against those who seek to diminish them."
Local ACLU affiliates also issued a Texas travel alert. These include:
California
Colorado
Delaware
Hawaii
Louisiana
Maine
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Wisconsin
Wyoming
SB4 will go into effect on September 1, 2017. However, the ACLU is concerned that some law enforcement officers may begin to treat residents and travelers unfairly now. If you believe your rights have been violated because of SB4, please contact the ACLU of Texas at 1-888-507-2970.
ACLU "Know Your Rights" materials are available in a variety of languages here:
www.aclu.org/know-your-rights
This press release is available online here:
https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-issues-texas-travel-advisory
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
'A Crime With No Immunity': Trump Solicits Buyers for Corrupt Crypto Dinner
"Trump's ongoing meme grift squats at the crest of his mountain of conflicts, corruptions, and debasements of the presidency," said one watchdog.
May 06, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump used his social media accounts on Monday to promote a scheduled private dinner for the top holders of the $TRUMP meme coin, effectively soliciting purchases of the crypto token that now accounts for a substantial portion of his net worth.
On both X and TruthSocial, Trump posted a promotional image for the May 22 "gala dinner," which will be held at his private golf club in Virginia. Only the top 220 investors in $TRUMP will get a seat at the dinner; the top 25 holders are promised a "VIP White House tour."
The meme coin's website displays a leaderboard with the usernames of the top holders, one of whom appears to be Chinese crypto billionaire Justin Sun. Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission paused a fraud case against Sun after he purchased tens of millions of dollars worth of tokens from World Liberty Financial—the Trump family's crypto venture.
The Trump family's net worth has reportedly grown by $2.9 billion over just the past six months thanks to crypto-related investments, and creators of the president's meme coin have raked in hundreds of millions from trading fees as people rush to purchase access to Trump. Late last month, a shipping logistics firm announced that it planned to purchase $20 million worth of $TRUMP coins as it seeks tariff relief.
"Those responsible for upholding the law, from federal prosecutors to members of Congress, can only ignore this at the expense of their own personal legacies."
The watchdog group Public Citizen said Monday that Trump's promotion of the private dinner for investors in his meme coin "is a crime with no immunity."
"Federal criminal law (18 U.S.C. § 201; 5 C.F.R. § 2635) forbids the president from soliciting gifts; as this is not a presidential act, he does not enjoy immunity from prosecution," the group noted, alluding to the U.S. Supreme Court's sweeping immunity decision last year.
Bartlett Naylor, Public Citizen's financial policy advocate, said in a statement that "Trump's ongoing meme grift squats at the crest of his mountain of conflicts, corruptions, and debasements of the presidency."
"Those responsible for upholding the law, from federal prosecutors to members of Congress, can only ignore this at the expense of their own personal legacies," said Naylor, who co-authored a Monday letter imploring the Justice Department and Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to "intervene and end these gift solicitations."
The dinner giveaway is so brazenly corrupt that it's raising eyebrows even among some of Trump's Republican allies in the Senate.
"This is my president that we're talking about, but I am willing to say that this gives me pause," said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) last week.
Hours after promoting the private event for top $TRUMP holders, the president late Monday hosted a $1.5 million-per-plate fundraising dinner at his Virginia club. The dinner, which was closed to the press, was co-hosted by David Sacks, the Trump administration's crypto czar.
In a letter to OGE on Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) noted that Sacks "is financially invested in the crypto industry, positioning him to potentially profit from the crypto policy changes he makes at the White House."
Keep ReadingShow Less
AOC Won't Seek Oversight Role: 'Underlying Dynamics in the Caucus Have Not Shifted'
"I believe I'll be staying put at Energy and Commerce," the progressive congresswoman said.
May 05, 2025
This is a breaking story… Please check back for possible updates...
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ended a week of speculation on Monday by announcing that she will not seek the ranking member position on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The New York Democrat, who last year ran for ranking member and lost to Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), told reporters, "It's actually clear to me that the underlying dynamics in the caucus have not shifted with respect to seniority as much as I think would be necessary, so I believe I'll be staying put at Energy and Commerce."
Ocasio-Cortez has recently been crisscrossing the country with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for his Fighting Oligarchy Tour. Nationally, the 35-year-old progressive is seen as a possible primary challenger to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and even a potential future presidential candidate.
Politico's Nicholas Wu noted last week that if Ocasio-Cortez declined to run for the committee post, "a number of young, ambitious members could mount bids, including Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Ro Khanna of California, Maxwell Frost of Florida, and Robert Garcia of California."
Connolly, now 75, sought the House leadership role despite an esophageal cancer diagnosis he disclosed in November. Last Monday, he said in a letter to constituents that "I want to begin by thanking you for your good wishes and compassion as I continue to tackle my diagnosis. Your outpouring of love and support has given me strength in my fights—both against cancer and in our collective defense of democracy."
"When I announced my diagnosis six months ago, I promised transparency," Connolly continued. "After grueling treatments, we've learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned. I'll do everything possible to continue to represent you and thank you for your grace."
"The sun is setting on my time in public service, and this will be my last term in Congress," he added. "I will be stepping back as ranking member of the Oversight Committee soon. With no rancor and a full heart, I move into this final chapter full of pride in what we've accomplished together over 30 years. My loving family and staff sustain me. My extended family—you all have been a joy to serve."
The panel's far-right chair, James Comer (R-Ky.), said in response to last week's announcement that "I'm saddened to hear that Ranking Member Connolly's cancer has returned. He is a steadfast public servant who has spent his career serving Northern Virginians with honor and integrity. It's an honor to serve the American people alongside him and I am rooting for him as he battles cancer once again. Our prayers are with Ranking Member Connolly and his family."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Trump Ally Bukele Reportedly Set to Arrest Journalists Who Revealed His Secret Pact With Gangs
One critic said the Salvadoran president "wants to silence" the acclaimed digital news site El Faro "because they're shattering the myths of the Bukele administration."
May 05, 2025
An internationally acclaimed digital news outlet in El Salvador said Monday that the administration of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele is preparing to arrest a number of its journalists following the publication of an interview with two former gang leaders who shed new light on a power-sharing agreement with the U.S.-backed leader and self-described "world's coolest dictator."
"A reliable source in El Salvador told El Faro that the Bukele-controlled Attorney General's Office is preparing at least seven arrest warrants for members of El Faro," the outlet reported. "The source reached out following the publication of an interview with two former leaders of the 18th Street Revolucionarios on Bukele's yearslong relationship to gangs."
"If carried out, the warrants are the first time in decades that prosecutors seek to press charges against individual journalists for their journalistic labors," El Faro added.
Bukele responded to the interview in a Friday evening post on the social media site X that read in part, "It's clear that a country at peace, without deaths, without extortion, without bloodshed, without corpses every day, without mothers mourning their children, is not profitable for human rights NGOs, nor for the globalist media, nor for the elites, nor for [George] Soros."
While the pact between Bukele and gang leaders is well-known in El Salvador, El Faro—which has long been a thorn in the president's side—was the first media outlet to air video of gangsters acknowledging the agreement.
As El Faro reported:
At the heart of the threat of arrests is irony: El Faro was only able to interview the two Revolucionarios because they escaped El Salvador with the complicity of Bukele.
One, who goes by "Liro Man," recounts that he was taken to Guatemala, through a blind spot in the Salvadoran border, by Bukele gang negotiator Carlos Marroquín; the other, Carlos Cartagena, or "Charli," was arrested on a warrant in April 2022, early in the state of exception, but quickly released after the police received a call at the station and backed off.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Salvadorans were being rounded up without due process, on charges of belonging to gangs.
The video interview explains the dichotomy: For years, Salvadoran gang leaders cut covert deals with the entourage of Nayib Bukele. In their interview with El Faro, the two Revolucionarios say the FMLN party, to which the now-president belonged a decade ago, paid a quarter of a million dollars to the gangs during the 2014 campaign in exchange for vote coercion in gang-controlled communities, on behalf of Bukele for San Salvador mayor and Salvador Sánchez Cerén as president.
"This support, the sources say, was key to Bukele's ascent to power," El Faro noted. "'You're going to tell your mom and your wife's family that they have to vote for Nayib. If you don't do it, we'll kill them,' Liro Man says the gang members told their communities in that election. Of Bukele, he added, 'he knew he had to get to the gangs in order to get to where he is.'"
Part of the deal was a tacit "no body, no crime" policy under which gang leaders agreed to hide their victims' corpses as Bukele boasted of a historic reduction in homicides in a country once known as the world's murder capital.
"We've wanted to talk about this for a long time, for the simple reason that the government beats their chests and says, 'We're anti-gang, we don't want this scourge,'" Liro Man told El Faro. "But they forgot that they made a deal with us, and you were the first to get this out."
In an ironic twist, the Trump administration deported gang members from the U.S. to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center prison who faced federal indictments that could have resulted in their testifying in court about the pact with Bukele.
Responding to the possible arrest warrants for El Faro staffers, Argentinian journalist Eliezer Budasoff said on social media Sunday that "it's clear" that El Salvador's leader "wants to silence" the outlet "because they're shattering the myths of the Bukele administration, simply with more journalism."
The Bukele administration's attacks on El Faro include falsely accusing the outlet of money laundering and tax evasion, banning its reporters from press briefings, and surveilling its staffers with Pegasus spyware. El Faro has remained steadfast in the face of these and other actions.
"Every citizen must decide for themselves whether they want to be informed, or whether they prefer the blind loyalty this administration has demanded of its supporters since its first day in power," the outlet's editors wrote in 2022. "We don't have that choice. Our job is to report. We can't change the news, and we never will."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular