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ACLU Lauds Markey Bill to End Extraordinary Rendition, Calls Government Sponsored Kidnapping and Torture Un-American (03/06/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) for introducing legislation to ban extraordinary rendition. The "Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act" would forever stop the federal government from secretly kidnapping people and sending them to torture cells run by foreign governments.

ACLU of Massachusetts Calls for Rejection of Real ID, Draft DHS Regulations Ignore Privacy and Civil Liberties Concerns (03/02/2007)
BOSTON - The ACLU of Massachusetts today called for Massachusetts to join the growing number of states considering rejection of the flawed "Real ID" national identity card program.

Federal Appeals Court Denies Day in Court for Victim of CIA Kidnapping, Citing “State Secrets” (03/02/2007)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed its disappointment in an appeals court ruling upholding the dismissal of the case of Khaled El-Masri, an innocent victim of the CIA’s policy of “extraordinary rendition.”

ACLU Slams Draft DHS Regulations on Real ID, Says Delay Fails to Address Privacy and Civil Liberties Concerns (03/01/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today slammed draft regulations for the implementation of the Real ID Act released by the Department of Homeland Security, calling them a "real nightmare" for America that will only lead to a national identity card system that violates personal privacy, bigger bureaucratic messes, longer lines, increased identity theft and higher fees.

ACLU: Senator Collins’ Real ID Amendment is Not a Real Solution; Proposal Fails to Address Law’s Fundamental Flaws (02/28/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today said that the proposal introduced by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) to delay the implementation of the Real ID Act by two years, fails to resolve the law’s fundamental privacy and civil liberties concerns.

ACLU Praises Akaka-Sununu Real ID Repair Proposal, Says Measure Provides Needed Privacy and Civil Liberties Safeguards (02/28/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed the introduction of a bipartisan measure authored by Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and John Sununu (R-NH) that would add critical privacy and civil liberties safeguards to the Real ID Act. Their proposal, the "Identification Security Enhancement Act of 2007" would fix several shortcomings of the controversial Real ID Act adopted by Congress.

U.S. Government Illegally Censoring Speech at Border, Groups Tell Court (02/23/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a new motion in federal court seeking to strike down a provision of the Patriot Act that allows the United States government to deny entry to foreign scholars because of their political views. The law, known as the “ideological exclusion” provision, violates the right of Americans to hear constitutionally protected speech, charged the ACLU.

ACLU Issues Real ID "Scorecard," Checklist Provides Framework For Evaluation of Upcoming Regulations (02/21/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today released a "scorecard" for evaluating Real ID Act regulations that are expected to be released soon by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The rules will provide the states with precise instructions on how to implement the act, which seeks to create a backdoor national identity card system by federalizing state driver’s licenses.

MCLU Disappointed Phone Privacy Case Heading To California, Vows to Continue Fight For Privacy Rights (02/16/2007)
PORTLAND, ME - The Maine Civil Liberties Union expressed disappointment today that the lawsuit concerning Maine phone customer privacy has been transferred to a Federal Court in California. The MCLU has vowed to continue its fight for answers about what exactly Verizon did with Maine phone customer records.

Senator Dodd Introduces Military Commissions Act Fix Bill; ACLU Applauds Move, Urges Congress to Restore Due Process (02/13/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) for introducing legislation to restore the Constitution and the basic American value of due process to detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. The "Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007" would also fix many of the problems contained in the Military Commissions Act passed by Congress last year.

Bush Administration Fails to Sign Accord on Secret Detentions; ACLU Says Programs Must be Shut Down Permanently (02/07/2007)
WASHINGTON - Responding to the Bush administration's decision not to sign an international accord regarding secret detentions and forced disappearances, the American Civil Liberties Union today expressed disappointment and urged Congress to examine the government's policies and practices that would have conflicted with the agreement -- and to shut down permanently all secret detention programs and facilities and end the practice of illegal kidnapping.

ACLU Praises New Senate Subcommittee On Human Rights, Welcomes Congressional Oversight of Torture, Rendition (02/05/2007)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the debut of the new Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. Chaired by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the subcommittee has jurisdiction over all human rights laws and policies and will focus on issues such as genocide, human trafficking, war crimes, torture and arbitrary detention.

U.S. Groups Renew Legal Challenge to Lift Ban on Muslim Scholar (02/05/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that it filed a new legal complaint challenging the federal government’s continued exclusion of prominent Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan. The complaint also challenges the Patriot Act’s “ideological exclusion” provision, which authorizes the government to deny visas to foreign citizens on the basis of their political views.

House Judiciary Hearing Examines Presidential Signing Statements, ACLU Applauds Panel’s Probe into Administration’s Power Grab (01/31/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today commended the House Judiciary Committee for holding its first hearing of the 110th Congress to examine President Bush’s use of presidential “signing statements.” Since taking office, President Bush has issued such statements affecting more than 750 laws, often claiming a right to not enforce laws passed by Congress.

Court Must Protect Americans from President’s Unchecked Spying, ACLU Argues (01/31/2007)
CINCINNATI - At a federal appeals court hearing today, the American Civil Liberties Union will argue that the president broke the law by authorizing the National Security Agency to engage in warrantless surveillance of Americans. The ACLU is urging the appeals court to uphold a lower court order that would prevent the NSA from resuming the illegal program.

ACLU Says Gonzales’ Release of NSA Surveillance Details A First Step, Calls on Congress to Conduct Vigorous Oversight (01/31/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today said an announcement from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that he will allow key lawmakers to see secret documents on the government's National Security Agency surveillance program under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court a good first step, but urged him to provide Congress with the full details on the program. The announcement comes on the same day that the ACLU appeared before a federal appeals court to challenge the program.

MCLU Applauds Public Utility's Demand that Verizon Tell the Truth About Cooperation with NSA's Spying Program (01/29/2007)
AUGUSTA, ME - The Maine Civil Liberties Union applauded the Maine Public Utilities Commission's decision today to initiate contempt proceedings against Verizon Maine for failure to comply with an August 9 order by the Commission. The order required a Verizon official to swear under oath to the truth of previous statements issued by Verizon regarding the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance and data collection program

Maine Becomes First State to Reject Flawed Real ID Act; ACLU Applauds Move That Foils Plans For National ID System (01/25/2007)
WASHINGTON - The state of Maine today became the first state to reject participation in the Real ID Act - the federal law that lays the foundation for a national identity card. The American Civil Liberties Union applauded the move and predicted that it would be just the first in a cascade of state refusals.