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ACLU Says New Border Fingerprinting System Likely To Sow Confusion, Tracking of Arab and Muslims Based on National Origin Will Continue (01/05/2004)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today warned that a new immigrant tracking program, known as US VISIT, can only increase confusion among immigrants to the United States in terms of when, where and how they have to register with the government, and will do nothing to end discriminatory tracking of Arabs and Muslims based on national origin and religion.

ACLU Opposes British-American Extradition Treaty; Says Measure Removes Crucial Due Process Protections (12/19/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today weighed in against the ratification of a new extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States, saying that the measure contains a number of ill-considered erosions of judicial review and would threaten the due process rights of Americans and others accused of crimes by the British government.

Justice Department is Misusing Criminal Database to Unlawfully Target Immigrants, Coalition Lawsuit Charges (12/17/2003)
NEW YORK - Civil rights and immigrant defense organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit challenging a post-9/11 initiative by Attorney General John Ashcroft to enlist state and local police in the routine enforcement of federal immigration laws.

ACLU Questions Newly Extended Employment Eligibility Verification System; Says Flaws in Databases Hurt Hard-Working Non-Citizens, Threaten Privacy (12/04/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today criticized the recent under-the-radar expansion in Congress of a flawed system to check whether job applicants are eligible to work in the United States. Most troubling, the ACLU said, is that incorrect and outdated information will unfairly deny jobs to many eligible applicants and that the law threatens to permit privacy violations through misuse of the system.

ACLU Calls Changes to Immigrant Registration System Positive Step, But Criticizes Half-Measures and Continuing Confusion (12/01/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union cautiously welcomed the announcement this morning by the Department of Homeland Security that it would be suspending parts of a controversial immigrant registration and tracking system -- known by the acronym NSEERS -- but emphasized that most of the program's provisions remain in effect.

ACLU Threatens Lawsuit Over Shortening of Special Registration Deadline for Arabs and Muslims in Pennsylvania (11/24/2003)
PHILADELPHIA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today warned immigration officials that it will file a federal civil rights lawsuit unless its Philadelphia office abandons a policy that makes it more difficult for thousands of Arab, Muslim and South Asian men to comply with the government's controversial "Special Registration" program.

Controversial Immigrant Registration Program May End; ACLU Says Arabs and Muslims Still At Risk for Unjustified Targeting, Deportation (11/21/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed cautious optimism about news reports that the government plans to end its controversial immigrant registration program, but said the most important question is whether re-registration deadlines would continue to apply to more than 80,000 people who have already registered once.

ACLU of Northern California Calls for Government to Halt Special Registration Program (11/20/2003)
SAN FRANCISCO -The America Civil Liberties Union of Northern California today asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to put a halt to the government's Special Registration Program that singles out Arab, Muslim, and South Asian men and boys. The ACLU also called for Congress to step in and halt the controversial program.

ACLU Urges Congress to Oppose Dangerous Law Enforcement Reform, Calls Immigration Powers Measure a Threat to Public Safety (10/01/2003)
WASHINGTON - As a key House subcommittee convened a hearing today to examine legislation that would blur the lines between federal and local law enforcement in civil immigration matters, the American Civil Liberties Union called the measure foolhardy and warned that it would have dangerous consequences for public safety.

ACLU of Louisiana Hails Federal Court Decision Overturning Ban on Immigrants Becoming Lawyers (09/19/2003)
NEW ORLEANS- The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today hailed a State Supreme Court ruling striking down a law that prohibited certain immigrants from practicing law in the state. On equal protection grounds, the court's decision agreed with the ACLU's argument that the rule arbitrarily discriminates against non-immigrant aliens who lawfully reside in the United States.

ACLU of Rhode Island Calls New Driver's License Policy "Shortsighted" (05/23/2003)
PROVIDENCE, RI--The announcement today by state officials that they will no longer issue driver's licenses to individuals who present Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs) rather than Social Security Numbers is a shortsighted policy change that will not make us any safer, but will cause enormous hardships.

ACLU of CO Sues to Stop State's April 1 Cutoff of Medical Aid to Legal Immigrants (03/27/2003)
DENVER-- The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado today filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court seeking to stop the April 1 implementation of a new state law that cuts off medical assistance to about 3,500 legal immigrants who are currently covered and who cannot afford to pay for their own medical care.

ACLU of Southern California Sets Up Hotline For Iraqi-Americans Seeking Legal Assistance With FBI Interviews (03/26/2003)
LOS ANGELES -- Concerned that federal law enforcement may be engaging in ethnic profiling, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and other civil rights groups today said that they will provide free legal advice to Iraqi immigrants, Iraqi Americans and others who may be contacted by the FBI for questioning.

ACLU of Northern CA Provides Free Legal Advice for Iraqi Immigrants Facing FBI Questioning (03/24/2003)
SAN FRANCISCO--Concerned that federal law enforcement may be engaging in ethnic profiling, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and other civil rights groups today announced that they will provide free legal advice to Iraqi immigrants, Iraqi Americans and others who may be contacted by the FBI for questioning.

ACLU of Michigan Condemns FBI Decision to Immediately Begin Questioning Iraqis (03/20/2003)
DETROIT-- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today expressed grave concern about an announcement by local FBI officials that no assurances would be provided to Arab men not suspected of wrongdoing yet targeted for questioning.

Immigration Agency Refuses to Respect Right to Legal Counsel During Interviews, ACLU Charges (03/19/2003)
NEW YORK - Despite documented problems, top immigration officials are refusing to direct local offices to stop interfering with legal representation of immigrants who must submit to interrogations under a controversial immigrant-tracking program, the American Civil Liberties Union charged today.

ACLU Says FBI Questioning of Iraqi Nationals in U.S. Will Hamper, Not Help, War on Terror (03/19/2003)
NEW YORK - The government's latest plan to question thousands of Iraqi nationals is yet another example of ethnic and religious profiling that may hamper rather than help efforts to apprehend terrorists, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

ACLU Says Federal Officials Should Enforce Immigration Laws (02/27/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today told lawmakers that federal officials - rather than local law enforcement officers -- should continue to enforce immigration laws, saying that doing so protects civil liberties, public safety in immigrant communities and prevents the drainage of needed resources from state and local law enforcement.

ACLU Calls FBI Mosque-Counting Scheme Blatant Ethnic and Religious Profiling (01/27/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today called a controversial scheme being implemented by the FBI to base investigation and wiretap goals on demographic information, including the number of mosques in a given area, a case of ethnic and religious profiling that will fail to make Americans any safer.

ACLU Urges Congress to Fully Investigate Ill-Conceived Immigration Registration and Detention Program (01/10/2003)
WASHINGTON - Responding to today's second deadline in a controversial immigrant tracking program that has resulted in hundreds of unwarranted detentions, the American Civil Liberties Union today called for a full Congressional investigation into the program and urged all affected non-citizens to seek legal counsel.