The Trump administration has taken the first official step towards fulfilling its promise to conduct “extreme vetting” of visitors and immigrants. On March 30, the State Department released a proposal outlining its plan to require visa applicants to disclose all the social...
In December 2016, the Boston City Council held a hearing to discuss the Boston Police Department’s plan to spend $1.4 million on a social media surveillance system. Police Superintendent Paul Fitzgerald and Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) director David Carabin spoke of...
Where do the candidates for Boston Mayor and City Council stand on policing, surveillance, and immigration? We asked them. On September 27, the ACLU—along with our coalition partners Muslim Justice League, Families for Justice as Healing, Digital Fourth, Council on American-Islamic Relations – Massachusetts, Jewish Voice...
Since Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, Boston officials have come out strong in defense of immigrants, Muslims, and other marginalized groups that find themselves in the crosshairs of the new administration. But key Boston Police Department policies and programs put these communities...
In mid-August, Donald Trump offended much of the country when he appeared to equate anti-fascist protesters with neo-Nazis. Last week, he pardoned the notorious Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt after refusing to follow a federal judge’s order to...
In a letter signed by two dozen technology experts and business leaders, the ACLU and the Alliance for Business Leadership call on Governor Charlie Baker to continue to use his bully pulpit to protest against discriminatory federal immigration policies, and to support...
In a February 20, 2017 letter to DHS Secretary John Kelly, Oregon democrat and ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee Ron Wyden voiced alarm at media reports of Customs Border Patrol (CBP) agents demanding device and social media passwords of travelers at...
The vast majority, or about 86%, of the over two million people locked up behind bars in the United States are under state or local control. They were arrested by state or local police, prosecuted by state or local prosecutors, sentenced by...
Last night I participated in a panel discussion on the WGBH television program Greater Boston. Watch the clip below. Please note that by playing this clip YouTube and Google will place a long term cookie on your computer.
If you’re like me, you’re feeling pretty frustrated and maybe even overwhelmed. There’s a lot of bad news these days, and it seems like it just won’t stop coming. Just this morning, the New York Times reported that Trump looks likely to...