Home : About Us

ACLU Of Utah Releases Report On Ogden Election Irregularities (04/25/2008)
SALT LAKE CITY - The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah released a report today detailing the results of an investigation into election irregularities surrounding the Ogden 2007 municipal election.

Civil Rights, Immigration Policy And Workers' Rights Groups Present New Evidence On Devastating Impact Of "No Match" Rule (04/25/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union, Immigration Policy Center (IPC), National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and Low Wage Immigrant Worker (LWIW) Coalition presented new evidence today that confirms that if the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) proposed "no match" rule goes into effect, it will result in the mass firings of U.S. citizens and other authorized workers and have a devastating impact on American businesses and the economy.

ACLU Urges House to Remain Firm as FISA Stalemate Continues (04/24/2008)
Washington, DC – In response to reports that Republicans in the House of Representatives have filed a discharge petition in order to force a vote on a Senate-passed update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the American Civil Liberties Union released the following statement.

ACLU Urges Senate Committee to Pass Strong State Secrets Bill (04/24/2008)
Washington, DC – As the Senate Judiciary Committee meets today to mark up key legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the body to pass a bill that would allow Americans to hold their government accountable. The bill, introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), would limit the scope of the state secrets privilege. The Bush administration, which has threatened to veto Senator Kennedy’s bill, has used the privilege to halt several important lawsuits against the government, including an ACLU case involving the extraordinary rendition of an innocent German citizen, Khaled El-Masri.

Congress Expected to Pass Health Privacy Protections (04/24/2008)
WASHINGTON DC - After more than a decade of debates, hearings and votes, Congress is expected to pass legislation referred to as the first civil rights bill of the 21st century that is a critical step toward securing civil liberties in the emerging field of medical technology.

Senate Poised To Tighten Broadcast Ownership Rules (04/24/2008)
Washington, DC – Today, the Senate Commerce Committee is expected to approve a bipartisan resolution, sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), which would restore a media ownership rule recently rescinded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The old rule generally restricted a company from owning both a newspaper and a television station in the same city, unless the FCC granted a waiver.

ACLU Applauds Senate Scrutiny of Overbroad NSL Authority (04/23/2008)
Washington, DC – As an overbroad and often-abused power is examined today by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union urged members of the committee to thoroughly question its witnesses before marking up legislation aimed at fixing the problem. The "National Security Letter Reform Act" introduced by committee member Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI), would narrow the scope of National Security Letters (NSLs) and curb abuse by federal law enforcement. NSLs are used to obtain access to personal customer records from Internet Service Providers, financial institutions and credit reporting agencies. Recipients of the NSLs are generally forbidden, or "gagged," from disclosing that they have received the letters.

ACLU Disappointed in Senate’s Failure to Consider Fair Pay Legislation (04/23/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union expressed its extreme disappointment in the Senate’s failure to address H.R. 2831, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The bill failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to avoid a filibuster and compel a floor vote. The goal of the Fair Pay Act was to restore the right of American workers to seek justice if they find themselves subject to wage discrimination, a right jeopardized by the 2007 Supreme Court decision Ledbetter v. Goodyear.

ACLU Urges Senate to Support Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (04/23/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union reiterated its strong support for H.R. 2831, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which is being debated on the Senate floor today and is slated for a vote this evening. This legislation is aimed at restoring the right of American workers to seek justice if they find themselves subject to wage discrimination, a right jeopardized by the 2007 Supreme Court decision Ledbetter v. Goodyear.

Evidence Once Again Shows Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs Don’t Work (04/23/2008)
Washington, DC – The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing today titled "Domestic Abstinence-Only Programs: Assessing the Evidence." The ACLU applauds Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) for bringing new attention to this deeply troubling policy and the committee’s willingness to examine the public health policy implications of abstinence-only programs. We look forward to the testimony of scientists, clinicians, researchers and youth activists who will report on the failures of abstinence-only education programs.

FBI Practices Need Strict Oversight, ACLU Says (04/23/2008)
Washington, DC – As FBI Director Robert Mueller appeared before Congress today, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the House Judiciary Committee to ask him the “hard questions.”

Social Security Delays of Disability Claims Violate Due Process Rights (04/23/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union commends the House Ways and Means Committee for holding a hearing today on the backlog of Social Security disability claims. The ACLU has submitted a written statement to the committee.

ACLU Demands Immediate Release Of Inspector General Report On FBI's Role In Illegal Interrogations (04/22/2008)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request today with the Departments of Justice and Defense for the release of a report on a long-running investigation of the FBI's role in the unlawful interrogations of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay. The Justice Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) launched the investigation after internal government documents - uncovered by an ACLU lawsuit - revealed that FBI agents stationed at Guantánamo Bay expressed concern after witnessing military interrogators' use of brutal interrogation techniques.

Botetourt County Promises to Repeal Ordinance Placing Time Limits on Campaign Signs (04/22/2008)
Botetourt County, VA - Botetourt County Administrator Gerald Burgess has informed the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia that a local ordinance prohibiting the posting of campaign signs on private property more than 60 days in advance of an election will be repealed in the near future and will not be enforced in the interim.

Court Agrees Public Schools Cannot Hand Out Bibles to Students (04/22/2008)
NEW ORLEANS - Today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled against a public school in Tangipahoa Parish that handed out Bibles to 5th-graders, saying the school infringed students' religious freedom. On May 9, 2007, the principal at Loranger Middle School invited the Gideon group into the school to distribute Bibles. Students were pulled out of class, brought outside of the principal's office and put in a line to receive Bibles.

Prison Litigation Reform Act Must be Fixed, Law denies justice to victims (04/22/2008)
Washington, DC – The House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security is scheduled to examine reform of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which was originally passed by Congress in 1996 as a way to stem the tide against what were thought to be frivolous lawsuits by prisoners. Since that time, the law has been used repeatedly to deny justice to victims of rape, assault, religious rights violations and other serious abuses.

ACLU Applauds Boulder Valley School District's Decision To Limit Searches Of Students' Cell Phone Text Messages (04/21/2008)
A spokesperson for the ACLU of Colorado announced today that it welcomes a decision of the Boulder Valley School District ("BVSD") to limit searches of students' cell phone text messages, an issue the ACLU raised in a letter made public in October, 2007. In that letter, the ACLU asserted that non-consensual searches of text messages violate a Colorado criminal statute designed to protect the privacy of telephone and electronic communications.

ACLU Tells Peace Corps To Stop Barring People With HIV From Serving As Volunteers (04/21/2008)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the Peace Corps today demanding that it change its policy of barring people with HIV from serving as volunteers. The ACLU sent the letter on behalf of a Denver volunteer who was sent home from his post in the Ukraine and terminated after he tested positive for HIV.

Court To Hear Arguments Today In Case Testing Material Support Statute (04/18/2008)
NEW YORK - A federal court will hear arguments today in a case that tests a material support statute that the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union call unconstitutional. Zeinab Taleb-Jedi, an American citizen, faces up to 15 years in prison for her alleged support of a group that has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. In November 2007, the ACLU filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, arguing that the law criminalizing material support to alleged terrorist organizations is unconstitutional because it punishes political association with blacklisted organizations without requiring the government to show a person intends to engage in or support any criminal activity.

ACLU of Maryland Launches "Real ID, Real Exposed" Campaign on College Campuses; Video Details Danger of Identity Theft (04/17/2008)
BALTIMORE - As part of a growing national movement in opposition to implementation of the federal Real ID Act by the states, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland has launched a campaign to educate young people and all Marylanders about why Real ID should be rejected. The "Real ID, Real Exposed" campaign features a video on YouTube, posters, postcards, website, and Myspace page designed to raise the profile of Real ID in Maryland and help organize the increasing number of people and organizations who oppose this misguided law.