Home : Immigrants' Rights

ACLU Welcomes Immigration Detention Medical Treatment Legislation (05/05/2008)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union applauds Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) for introducing H.R. 5950, the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008. This legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop procedures to ensure adequate medical care for all detainees held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The legislation also requires ICE to report detainee deaths to the DHS and Department of Justice Offices of Inspector General.

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.

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.”

MALDEF, ACLU and Otero County Sheriff's Department Resolve Civil Rights Suit (04/09/2008)
LAS CRUCES, NM - MALDEF and the ACLU of New Mexico today announced a landmark settlement with the Otero County Sheriff's Department that addresses what plaintiffs alleged were civil rights violations committed by county deputies during immigration sweeps last September in the southern New Mexico town of Chaparral. Civil rights advocates say the agreement will help restore community trust in local law enforcement and greatly improve the safety of all people living in the County.

E-Verify Would Cost $40 Billion, CBO Says (04/08/2008)
WASHINGTON – The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released the estimated cost to implement H.R. 4088, the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act of 2007, and found that the proposed legislation would cost taxpayers more than $40 billion over 10 years. H.R. 4088, introduced by Representatives Heath Shuler (D-NC) and Tom Tancredo (R-CO), would implement a national employer verification system and mandate it for all new hires. It is currently under consideration for a “discharge petition” that would allow the bill to bypass the traditional committee markup process and instead go directly to the House floor.

Immigrants' Rights Advocates And ACLU File Lawsuit To End Illegal Delays In Processing Citizenship Applications (04/01/2008)
PHILADELPHIA - Many immigrants who have satisfied the requirements to become U.S. citizens have been illegally left in limbo for years due to the slow processing of FBI "name checks," charged a lawsuit filed today in federal district court in Philadelphia against government officials responsible for the prolonged, system-wide delays. As a result of the lag in "name checks," hundreds or thousands of citizenship applications have been held up well past the 180-day window established by Congress for processing the applications.

ACLU And MALDEF File Lawsuit Against Arizona Town Over Anti-Solicitation Law (03/25/2008)
PHOENIX – A local Arizona anti-solicitation ordinance targeting day laborers violates the free speech rights of individuals who express their availability to work by standing in public areas, charged the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Arizona and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) in a lawsuit filed today in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.

ACLU Says Schools Must Provide In-state Tuition to U.S.-Born Virginia Residents Even If Parents Are Undocumented (03/25/2008)
Richmond, VA -- In letters being mailed today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia warns Virginia colleges against denying in-state tuition to U.S.-born students whose parents are undocumented immigrants. The ACLU’s letter responds to a memo from the Virginia Attorney General’s office claiming that undocumented persons are not considered to be domiciled in Virginia and therefore their children are presumed not to be domiciled here as well. One must be domiciled in Virginia to receive in-state tuition.

Civil Rights Coalition Charges That Republished "No Match" Rule Will Hurt American Workers (03/21/2008)
WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today reissued a "no match" rule with no substantial changes that would continue to put American and other authorized workers at risk of losing their jobs. If the newly released DHS rule were to take effect, it would still improperly use social security records for immigration enforcement.

NYCLU Hails Defeat of Suffolk County Anti-Immigrant Proposal (03/18/2008)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union today hailed the demise of an anti-immigrant proposal by Suffolk County lawmakers that would have required all 15,000 licensed contractors in the county to prove their employees’ working status.

Senate Budget Resolution a Setback for Minorities in the Workplace (03/14/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union expressed its disappointment with yesterday’s Senate adoption of Senator Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) amendment to the budget resolution. The amendment rolls back federal civil rights enforcement authority created in the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Alexander amendment cuts funds allocated to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to prosecute workplace discrimination based on national origin, and redirects the funds to the Department of Education for English language training. Yesterday the Senate also passed an amendment offered by Sen. Kennedy to increase funding for English language training by $1 million.