National Security

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
-- Benjamin Franklin,
Historical Review of Pennsylvania (1759)

Throughout U.S. history, "national security" has often been used as a pretext for massive violations of individual rights.

In the 1940s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans. Today, virtually all Americans recognize the internment as an unjustified action that compromised the fundamental freedoms that make America great.

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, mobilized our country in the fight against terrorism. However, 9/11 also launched one of the most serious civil liberties crises our nation has ever seen.

The USA-Patriot Act and related government actions undercut many important checks and balances on government law enforcement and intelligence powers. The most powerful parts of this sweeping legislation take away checks on law enforcement and threaten the very rights and freedoms that we are struggling to protect. For example, without a warrant and without probable cause, the FBI now has the power to access your most private medical records, your library records, and your student records ... and can prevent anyone from telling you it was done, even if it turns out to have no connection with a terrorism investigation.

In Oregon, the ACLU led the way to protect two unique Oregon laws under attack after 9/11. ORS 181.575 prohibits law enforcement from spying on people based solely on religious, political or associational activities. ORS 181.850 prohibits law enforcement from enforcing federal (civil) immigration laws when a person is not suspected of any criminal activity. As a result of a 65-member coalition, those two laws were preserved from various attempts to weaken or eliminate them in the 2003 Oregon legislature.

If we allow the interests of "national security" to take away our freedoms, we surrender what it is to be an American.

Litigation

Latif, et al. v. Holder, et al.

ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutional “No Fly List”

May 11, 2012 – The American Civil Liberties Union argued in a federal appeals court Friday morning that its challenge to the government’s secretive No Fly List should be reinstated. The ACLU represents 15 U.S. citizens and permanent residents, including four military veterans, who are banned from flying to or from the U.S. or over American airspace, causing great personal hardship. They have never been told why they are on the list or given a reasonable opportunity to get off it.

Mayfield v. United States of America

Constitutional Challenge to USA-Patriot Act

December 10, 2009 - The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Brandon Mayfield has no standing to pursue his claims against illegal seach and seizure in his challenge to the constitutionality of portions of the USA-Patriot Act.

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Legislation

Portland and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force

Final Portland Reports on JTTF Greatly Improved, But…

February 29, 2012 – Significantly modified reports on the City of Portland’s relationship with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) were approved by the City Council after the ACLU’s testified they were greatly improved, but still lacked data that would permit the public to independently confirm that Oregon law and the Constitution are being honored by the City.

Archive: FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (2001 - 2008)

In 2000, the ACLU of Oregon and our coalition partners began organizing to shed light on Portland’s involvement in the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force after Dan Handelman of Portland Copwatch noticed an item related to the JTTF on the City Council’s consent agenda.

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Other

ACLU No Fly List Challenge Argued in Appeals Court in Portland

The national ACLU, along with its affiliates in Oregon, Southern California, Northern California and New Mexico, filed the lawsuit against the FBI, which creates and controls the list. In May 2011, the district court in Portland dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, ruling that the lawsuit should have been filed against the Transportation Security Administration, which administers the redress process for travelers denied boarding.

Final Portland Reports on JTTF Greatly Improved, But…

Last week, the ACLU had issued a detailed analysis that strongly criticized the original draft reports issued February 13 by Police Chief Mike Reese and Mayor Sam Adams. In prepared testimony today, ACLU of Oregon Executive Director David Fidanque detailed the specific improvements in the final reports, which will be made annually to the City Council in the future.

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