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ACLU Slams Plan to Place Parts of FBI Under Control of Intelligence Agencies, Warns of Further Mixing Law Enforcement With Intelligence Operations
WASHINGTON - Following reports the president will push for the Department of Justice to create a National Security Service within the FBI that reports to the Director of National Intelligence, the American Civil Liberties Union said the shift would lead to an erosion of constitutional protections against law enforcement actions. The change would affect the Justice Department's counterterrorism, espionage and intelligence units.

U.S.: Scores of Muslim Men Jailed Without Charge
NEW YORK -- Operating behind a wall of secrecy, the U.S. Department of Justice thrust scores of Muslim men living in the United States into a Kafkaesque world of indefinite detention without charge and baseless accusations of terrorist links, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a report released today.

ACLU Sues Department of Homeland Security to End Repeated Detention of U.S. Citizen Triggered by "Unfortunate Misidentification"
CHICAGO -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois today asked a federal district court to order the Department of Homeland Security to remedy policies that resulted in a U.S. citizen being detained in a nearly six-hour ordeal at the United States-Canada border as a result of being misidentified.

Lawsuit Against Rumsfeld to Be Heard in Federal Court in the District of Columbia
WASHINGTON -- A lawsuit that seeks to hold Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and others directly responsible for the abuse and torture of detainees in U.S. military custody will be heard in a federal court in the District of Columbia, a seven-judge panel ruled yesterday. The lawsuit, which was the first to name Secretary Rumsfeld in the ongoing torture scandal in Afghanistan and Iraq, was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First on behalf of eight Afghan and Iraqi men who were tortured while they were held in U.S. detention facilities.

Science Under Siege By Bush Administration, ACLU Charges
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union released a report today examining government policies and practices that have hampered academic freedom and scientific inquiry since September 11, 2001. The report sheds new light on how these policies curtail basic rights and put all Americans at risk.

ACLU Says TSA Action on Secure Flight Shows Blatant Disregard for Privacy, Agency Violated Congressional Limits and Its Own Public Positions
WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration is set to disclose this week in the Federal Register that the agency has collected and stored personal data about airline travelers, despite a Congressional ban and promises from the agency that it would not do so. The American Civil Liberties Union today said the secret collection of personal data from private companies shows a complete disregard for the privacy of Americans, and said it shows that the Secure Flight program should not be launched because testing of commercial data using a more limited amount of data failed.

ACLU Denounces Senator Roberts' Patriot Act Expansion Bill, Says Constitutional Rights Need to Be Protected, Not Further Eroded
WASHINGTON -Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) formerly introduced legislation today designed to reauthorize - and expand - the Patriot Act. The American Civil Liberties Union today denounced the proposal, and called upon lawmakers to bring the act in line with the Constitution by restoring proper checks and balances.

Civil Rights Groups File Freedom of Information Act Request in Wake of Reports of FBI Harassment of Muslims in Lodi, CA
SACRAMENTO -- Prompted by reports from the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Sacramento Valley and the Muslim community, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and local civil rights groups today filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking FBI records of the procedures and policies used during the questioning and detention of dozens of Muslims in the Central Valley town of Lodi.

ACLU Applauds House Stance Against Intrusive Patriot Act Power; Bipartisan Majority Adopts "Freedom to Read" Amendment
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the House of Representatives for adopting the "Freedom to Read" proposal - offered by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). It denies funding for FBI access to library and bookstore records under section 215 of the Patriot Act. A bipartisan majority (238-187) approved the measure as an amendment to a Department of Justice funding measure.

ACLU Welcomes Senate Inquiry Into Detainees and Their Abuse, Says Outside Special Counsel Needed To Answer Questions
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for conducting an oversight hearing on the issue of detainees held by the federal government. Critics have long called for Congressional inquiries into the issue, noting that there continues to be gross violations of the basic protections of detainees, and that an outside special counsel is needed to investigate and prosecute any criminal acts in the torture or abuse of detainees by the U.S. Government.

ACLU Sues Denver Police for Records of Internal Investigations Related to "Spy Files" Controversy
DENVER -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado today filed a lawsuit against the Denver Police Department seeking disclosure of the records of internal investigations that were prompted by the Spy Files controversy in 2002 and 2003.

ACLU Says President Continuing Patriot Act "Charm Offensive," But Hasn't Silenced Bipartisan Calls for Reform
WASHINGTON - President Bush spoke today at the National Counterterrorism Center as part of the administration's renewed "charm offensive" on the Patriot Act. The American Civil Liberties Union called the president's remarks both misguided and deceitful. Key parts of the Patriot Act are set to "sunset" or expire at the end of the year, and the administration is pushing for reauthorization, and expansion, of the anti-terrorism law.

ACLU Says President Bush Misled Public on Patriot Act; Urges Congress to Bring Law In Line with the Constitution
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union called the president's address today on the Patriot Act to law enforcement personnel in Columbus, Ohio both misguided and disingenuous. Key parts of that law are set to "sunset" or expire at the end of the year, and the administration is pushing to not only reauthorize the act, but to expand it.

House Judiciary Committee Holds Final Patriot Act Oversight Hearing; ACLU Prepares to Increase Pressure on Lawmakers for Reform
WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee met today to hold its final oversight hearing on the Patriot Act, wrapping up weeks of testimony from both conservatives and liberals that changes are needed to restore checks and balances. The American Civil Liberties Union called on lawmakers to reject the administration's push to expand the controversial law, and instead bring it in line with the Constitution.

Senate Panel Considering Patriot Act Expansion Bill in Secret; ACLU Says Fixes, Not Expansions, Are Needed
WASHINGTON - The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is meeting today behind closed doors to conclude secret deliberations on legislation designed to reauthorize - and expand - the Patriot Act. The American Civil Liberties Union denounced the secretive process, and said lawmakers should be reforming, not expanding, the most extreme parts of the Patriot Act. The proposed bill would make the Patriot Act's most controversial provisions permanent, and further expand it by allowing FBI agents to issue their own search orders with no court approval.

ACLU Disappointed with Patriot Act Expansion Bill Approved in Secret; Says "Administrative Subpoenas" Create End-Run Round Constitution
WASHINGTON - Following reports that the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today approved - behind closed doors - legislation designed to reauthorize and expand the Patriot Act, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed its disappointment with the secretive process and the end result that tramples on the Constitution.

ACLU Criticizes Pennsylvania Eco-Terrorism Legislation as Part of Government's Crackdown on Political Dissent
PHILADELPHIA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today criticized eco-terrorism legislation that is before the state General Assembly, calling it a threat to the First Amendment rights of all Pennsylvanians who wish to express their views on matters of public policy.

Federal Court Orders Government to Turn Over Videos and Photos Showing Detainee Abuse
NEW YORK -- A federal judge has ordered the Defense Department to turn over dozens of photographs and four movies depicting detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Appeals Court Requires Justice Department to Turn Over Secret Memo on Immigration Policy
NEW YORK -- Calling it another blow to government secrecy over post-9/11 policies and practices, the American Civil Liberties Union today hailed a unanimous federal appeals court ruling that requires the Justice Department to disclose a secret legal memorandum that outlines the government's legal position advocating for unprecedented power by local police to enforce civil immigration laws.

Iranian American "Know Your Rights" Campaign Launched By National Organizations
LOS ANGELES -- At a breakfast briefing this morning the American Civil Liberties Union and leaders of the Iranian American community launched a ""Know Your Rights"" Campaign designed to address community-specific concerns.