Safe and Free
The ACLU wholeheartedly believes that we can be safe and free. There has never been a more urgent need to preserve fundamental privacy protections and our system of checks and balances than the need we face today, as illegal government spying, provisions of the Patriot Act and government-sponsored torture programs transcend the bounds of law and our most treasured values in the name of national security.
ACLU Sues CIA for Documents on Iraq War Critic Juan Cole
Materials Could Reveal Illegal Domestic Spying Activity by CIA and Bush Administration Officials
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 13, 2011
DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a lawsuit today demanding that the government turn over any documents it has relating to University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole, a vocal critic of the Iraq War and the Bush administration. Under the Freedom of Information Act, the ACLU requested materials related to Cole from the CIA, the FBI and the offices of both the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence.
> Full Story
Michigan Advocacy Groups Launch Border Profiling Hotline
IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 10, 2008
DETROIT – Citing growing concerns over border patrol’s persistent targeting and ongoing detention of individuals at the border based on their race, ethnicity or religion, a coalition of concerned advocacy agencies in Michigan announced the creation of a border complaint hotline today in honor of International Human Rights Day. Individuals with complaints are encouraged to call 313.578.6832 or file a formal complaint online by clicking here. > Full Story
ACLUs Across the U.S. File Federal Suit to Stop Airport Harassment
IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 19, 2006
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Unions of Michigan, Massachusetts and Washington today filed an amended complaint to a lawsuit previously filed by the ACLU of Illinois which calls on the federal government to reform its screening center procedures that are responsible for the detention and harassment of U.S. citizens upon re-entry into the United States at a multitude of airports and border crossings. The case is pending in federal court in
White House Hijacks Patriot Reform
November 17, 2005 - ACTION ALERT
Calls to Congress Needed TODAY https://secure.aclu.org/callnow/readmore.html
Eager for a public success, the Bush Administration has strong-armed lawmakers into re-drafting a final Patriot Act bill that actually makes the original law even worse. The new proposals reverse months of bipartisan negotiations and ignore the growing calls for reform from across the political spectrum.
> Full StoryInnocent Civilian Held in Iraq Released
Days After ACLU Files Suit, Michigan Refugee From
Saddam’s Regime Freed from U.S. Military Custody
Press Release - September 7, 2005
DETROIT - Less than a week after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against top U.S. officials demanding the release of a long-time U.S. resident, the government freed him Tuesday.
> Full StoryACLU Asks for Release of Innocent Civilian Held in Iraq
The Iraqi-born U.S. resident was released from a U.S. military prison in Baghdad yesterday, two days before a scheduled hearing on why the U.S. government had continued to detain him after clearing him of involvement in a mortar attack.Michigan Refugee From Saddam’s Regime Held Indefinitely After a Military Tribunal Found Him Innocent Eight Weeks Ago
August 31, 2005 - Press Release
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today in Washington, D.C. against top U.S. officials demanding the release of a legal permanent resident of the United States who is in custody in a U.S.military jail in Iraq after being declared innocent by a military court eight weeks ago.
> Full StoryACLU of Michigan Rejects Bush Administration Call to Remove Patriot Act Sunsets
New TV Ads Mislead the Public
May 26, 2004 - Press Release
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today urged Congress and the American people to reject the latest call by the Bush administration to extend the USA Patriot Act. The ACLU said that the president’s renewed request, which came in new campaign advertising that began airing today, is misleading and ignores strong bi-partisan support for fixes to the law.
> Full StoryJustice Department May Be Using Controversial Patriot Act Powers After All
May 20, 2004 - Press Release
DETROIT – Attorney General Ashcroft’s widely publicized announcement last September that a provision expanding the powers of the FBI had not yet been used may no longer be true, the American Civil Liberties Union said today. This suspicion is based on a letter filed by the Department of Justice in the lawsuit challenging a controversial Patriot Act provision. > Full StoryCourt Will Hear Arguments on December 3 in Challenge to PATRIOT Act
November 26, 2003
The American Civil Liberties Union will present arguments in the first case to review the constitutionality of a controversial section of the PATRIOT Act. The December 3rd hearing in federal district court will mark the first time the Justice Department has been called upon to defend the law in court.
> Full StoryPATRIOT Act Fears Are Stifling Free Speech, ACLU Says in Challenge to Law
November 3, 2003 - Press Release
NEW YORK – Fear of the PATRIOT Act has caused a dramatic decline in memberships and donations at mosques and forced a church-sponsored group that aids refugees to change its record-keeping practices, the American Civil Liberties Union said in legal papers filed today in Detroit.
> Full StoryAshcroft Visit to Detroit Will Not Include Seeing the Public
August 19, 2003 - Press Release
DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union learned today that Attorney General John Ashcroft will only be addressing law enforcement officials on his new national tour to defend the Patriot Act and the government’s war on terrorism when he comes to Detroit on Thursday.
> Full StoryACLU Files First Challenge to USA PATRIOT Act
ACLU Cites Radical Expansion of FBI Powers
July 30, 2003 - Press Release
DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed the first legal challenge to the USA PATRIOT Act, taking aim at a section of the controversial law that vastly expands the power of FBI agents to secretly obtain records and personal belongings of innocent people in the United States, including citizens and permanent residents.
> Full StoryAnn Arbor City Council Passes Civil Liberties Resolution
Ann Arbor Joins 137 Cities Across the Nation
July 8, 2003 - Press Release
Ann Arbor -- Last night the Ann Arbor City Council passed, by a 9-2 vote, a resolution to safeguard the civil liberties of Ann Arbor residents in the wake of post-9/11 anti-terrorism legislation and executive orders. Passage of the resolution makes Ann Arbor the 137th city in the U.S. to pass such a measure. The states of Alaska, Vermont and Hawaii have also enacted statewide resolutions. The City of Detroit passed a similar measure in January of 2003.
> Full StorySummarized Highlights of Patriot II
In passing the USA PATRIOT Act (PATRIOT Act I), Congress expanded the powers of the government to spy on individuals, reduce the oversight of such activities, and ultimately increase the secrecy with which the Justice Department operates. The Domestic Security Enhancement Act (PATRIOT Act II) threatens to fundamentally alter the constitutional protections that allow us as Americans to be both safe and free. > Full StoryDOJ Exempts FBI Database from Privacy Act
On March 24, 2003, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published a final rule without public comment that exempts the FBI's National Crime Information Center database from the Privacy Act. This means that the FBI no longer needs to ensure the accuracy and timeliness before loading incriminating information about a particular individual into the nation's most comprehensive law enforcement database. > Full StoryACLU condemns FBI decision to question Iraqis not under suspicion
March 20, 2003 - Press Release
Detroit -- The FBI has told the ACLU that they will refuse to follow their previous practice in Michigan of providing assurances of the men's rights, specifically the right to an attorney, in advance of questioning Arab men. Wednesday night, the FBI announced that they will immediately begin questioning all Iraqis who have entered the United States since the Gulf War.
ACLU Adds Staff Attorney to Coordinate Post 9/11 Activities
January 6, 2003 - Press Release
DETROIT– The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is pleased to announce that Noel Saleh, a prominent and longtime immigration attorney in the Detroit area, joined the staff in January 2003 to expand outreach to the Arab community and coordinate legal work developed in response to new government efforts to control terrorism at the expense of civil liberties.
> Full StoryCourt Rules Immigration Judge Erred in Closing Rabih Haddad's Bond Hearing
October 6, 2002 - Press Release
Detroit - A federal judge ruled today that an immigration court did violate the due process of Rabih Haddad when closing a portion of his bond hearing last week without following procedure of finding facts on the record, according to the ACLU of Michigan. Though she determined that the hearing could be closed with respect to the testimony of one witness, she ruled that the immigration court failed to follow proper due process procedure in the future.
> Full StoryFederal Appeals Court Declares Secret Deportation Hearings Unconstitutional
August 26, 2002 - Press Release
In a unanimous decision today, a federal appeals court struck down the government's blanket policy of conducting secret deportation hearings inpost-9/11 cases as a violation of the First Amendment. It is the first such decision by a federal appellate court anywhere in the country.
> Full StoryTranscripts of Haddad Hearings Remain Out of Public's Reach
April 10, 2002 - Press Release
The transcripts to prior immigration hearings regarding Rabih Haddad remain out of the public’s reach, at least for the time being. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the portion of the district court’s order requiring the Government to turn over the documents is temporarily stayed pending further order of the Court of Appeals.
> Full StoryACLU Victory Will Open Immigration Proceedings
April 4, 2002 - Press Release
DETROIT – Freedom of speech and freedom of the press won out when a federal district judge ruled late today that it is unconstitutional to block public access to immigration hearings. The decision ensures that legal proceedings of detainees around the nation will not be conducted in secret unless there is a particularly pressing need for secrecy in a given case, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
> Full StoryShould Airports Engage in Terrorist Profiling?
March 8, 2002
No: Stereotyping Creates False Sense of Safety; Focus Instead on Behavior
By Kary L. Moss / Special to The Detroit News
As the nation tries to find the best ways to improve airport security, it is crucial that we resist grabbing onto strategies that only create a sense of false security but not real security. Racial profiling is a key example.
> Full StoryACLU Warns Legislature to Proceed Cautiously
| January 24, 2002 - Press Release |
Detroit – In anticipation of next week’s Judiciary Committee agenda in the Michigan Senate, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan sent a letter today urging legislators to proceed cautiously as they begin the public hearings on the Anti-Terrorism Act.
> Full StoryAs Government Prepares to Investigate Thousands,
November 15, 2001 - Press Release
Detroit -- The Michigan ACLU announced today that pamphlets advising people about their rights when stopped or questioned by the FBI, police or INS officials are available in English, Spanish and Arabic.
> Full StoryNorthwest Airlines Apologizes to Civil Rights Groups
Thursday, November 8, 2001 - Press Release
DETROIT. The CEO and Executive Vice President of Northwest Airlines have sent a letter to the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan to apologize for the treatment of three passengers of Middle East descent who were removed from a plane on September 20 because other passengers were uncomfortable about flying with them on a Northwest flight after the September 11th attack.
> Full StoryACLU Grieves with the Nation
September 14, 2001 - Statement of Kary L. Moss, Esq.,ACLU of Michigan Executive Director ACLU of Michigan Grieves with the Nation
Concerned About Retaliation in our Community > Full Story
