Seeking lives of safety and opportunity, people coming to the United States as migrants and asylum-seekers may carry only their most essential and beloved possessions. When they arrive in the U.S. and are taken into Border Patrol custody, many migrants …
While studying abroad a couple of years ago, I heard first-hand accounts from Jordanian-Palestinian friends about the displacement their families, and families like theirs, experienced during the 1948 Nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”). Moved by the painful …
The Senate voted on Wednesday against a bill that would have been the first major overhaul of asylum and immigration law in a generation — and would have been a disastrous retreat from basic principles of fairness. As our elected leaders continue to debate …
We often hear about government misuse of face recognition technology (FRT) and how it can derail a person’s life through wrongful arrests and other harms. Despite mounting evidence, government agencies continue to push face recognition systems on …
On October 24, 2022 at 2 a.m., 27-year-old Joshua Wesley called a crisis help line from his home in Washington County, Oregon, just west of Portland. He was having suicidal thoughts and knew that he needed professional help. But instead of receiving a …
This week, the House Homeland Security Committee passed articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on a party-line vote. To make the case for impeachment, the Committee majority has issued five …
On January 25, the state of Alabama executed Kenneth Smith using nitrogen hypoxia, subjecting him to inhale pure nitrogen through a mask until he suffocated. Despite state claims that it would be a painless death, witnesses reported Mr. Smith shook, …
For years, the ACLU and other privacy advocates have been challenging law enforcement’s growing use of reverse warrants. These problematic warrants include, most prominently, reverse location warrants (also known as geofence warrants), which seek location …
Behind closed doors, the White House and Congress continue to negotiate major changes to border and immigration law as part of a larger deal on foreign military assistance. One of the rumored proposals is to expand a program called Family Expedited Removal …
For people across the country, reliable internet access allows them to engage with the world. Think about your day – how many times did you go online, and what were you able to accomplish? This April, however, 23 million households are likely to lose …
Like everyone else, college students have a First Amendment right to express their political opinions and advocate for the causes they believe in. Universities have long served as hotbeds for students to exercise these rights, providing opportunities for …
On January 25, the state of Alabama will attempt to execute Kenneth Smith using nitrogen hypoxia, forcing him to inhale pure nitrogen through a mask until he suffocates. This will be the first time in United States history that nitrogen gas has ever been …
Last week, the National Policing Institute, in cooperation with the Department of Justice division on Community Oriented Policing Services, issued guidance to state and local law enforcement agencies on specialized units. NPI’s first recommendation is for …
When Manhattan resident Daudi Justin was studying for his undergraduate degree at Columbia University in 2016, he received a jury summons. He was astonished to learn that he was permanently disqualified from serving on a jury because of a past felony …
Last year, Anadith Reyes Alvarez, a medically vulnerable 8-year-old girl, died in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention after contract medical staff failed to review her medical records or consult with a physician and refused her emergency medical …
For deaf people, language deprivation during early childhood represents the most significant threat to the exercise of their civil rights and liberties. Not having adequate exposure to a language early in life has profound, lifelong consequences. Deaf …
In case after case, we’ve seen the government remove people from the No Fly List and prevent their legal challenges from being heard. Now, the Supreme Court has the chance to ensure Americans wrongly placed on this list are actually given their day in …
In the 1920s and 30s, a stark white-on-black banner would sometimes appear in front of NAACP headquarters in Manhattan. It read simply, “A MAN WAS LYNCHED YESTERDAY.” The proliferating southern NAACP branches of the time would relay information about …
The freedom to speak out and debate matters of public concern is a fundamental right that allows our democracy to flourish. As the world bears witness to the catastrophic war in Palestine and Israel, U.S. college students on both sides of this conflict …
As 2023 draws to a close, we’re reflecting on crucial wins and our ongoing advocacy for civil liberties and civil rights. We’re also looking to the work ahead that will determine whether rights around the country are diminished or expanded. With the 2024 …
