National Security
FBI v. Fikre
Whether the government can overcome the voluntary cessation exception to mootness by removing an individual from the No Fly List when the government has not repudiated its decision to place him on the List and remains free to return him to the List for the same reasons and using the same procedures he alleges were unlawful.
Status: Ongoing
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Florida
Nov 2023
National Security
+2 Issues
Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Florida v. Raymond Rodrigues
The University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine filed a lawsuit on November 16, 2023, challenging the Chancellor of the State University System of Florida’s order to state universities to deactivate the student group. This order threatens the students’ constitutionally-protected right to free speech and association in violation of the First Amendment. The ACLU and its partners are seeking a preliminary injunction that would bar the Chancellor and the University of Florida from deactivating the UF SJP.
U.S. Supreme Court
Apr 2022
National Security
+2 Issues
FBI v. Fazaga
In a case scheduled to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on November 8, 2021, three Muslim Americans are challenging the FBI’s secret spying on them and their communities based on their religion, in violation of the Constitution and federal law. In what will likely be a landmark case, the plaintiffs — Yassir Fazaga, Ali Uddin Malik, and Yasser Abdelrahim — insist that the FBI cannot escape accountability for violating their religious freedom by invoking “state secrets.” The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, the ACLU of Southern California, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Council for American Islamic Relations, and the law firm of Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jul 2021
National Security
Immigrants' Rights
Sierra Club v. Trump — Challenge to Trump’s National Emergency Declaration to Construct a Border Wall
In February 2019, the ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s emergency powers declaration to secure funds to build a wall along the southern border. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition. The lawsuit argues that the president is usurping Congress’s appropriations power and threatening the clearly defined separation of powers inscribed in the Constitution. On January 20, 2021, President Biden halted further border wall construction. Litigation in this and subsequent related challenges has been paused or deadlines extended while the ACLU’s clients and the Biden administration determine next steps.
Indiana
Oct 2016
National Security
Immigrants' Rights
Exodus Refugee Immigration, Inc. v. Mike Pence, et al
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana, on behalf of Exodus Refugee Immigration, filed suit against Governor Mike Pence and the secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration to stop attempts to suspend resettlement of Syrian refugees, claiming the governor’s actions violate the United States Constitution and federal law.
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148 National Security Cases
Court Case
Sep 2023
National Security
CLEAR, ACLU v. CBP—FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records on CBP’s Tactical Terrorism Response Teams
The ACLU and its partners have sued CBP to compel it to turn over records on highly secretive units deployed at U.S. ports of entry, which target, detain, search, and interrogate innocent travelers. These units, which may target travelers on the basis of officer “instincts,” raise the risk that CBP is engaging in unlawful profiling or interfering with the First Amendment-protected activity of travelers.
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Court Case
Sep 2023
National Security
CLEAR, ACLU v. CBP—FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records on CBP’s Tactical Terrorism Response Teams
The ACLU and its partners have sued CBP to compel it to turn over records on highly secretive units deployed at U.S. ports of entry, which target, detain, search, and interrogate innocent travelers. These units, which may target travelers on the basis of officer “instincts,” raise the risk that CBP is engaging in unlawful profiling or interfering with the First Amendment-protected activity of travelers.
Court Case
Sep 2023
National Security
ACLU v. ODNI – FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records About Government Surveillance Under the USA Freedom Act
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Court Case
Sep 2023
National Security
ACLU v. ODNI – FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records About Government Surveillance Under the USA Freedom Act
Michigan Supreme Court
Sep 2023
National Security
Privacy & Technology
Long Lake Township v. Maxon
On September 8, 2023, the ACLU, the ACLU of Michigan, and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy filed an amicus brief in the Michigan Supreme Court arguing that the local government deploying an unmanned drone to take aerial photographs of the appellant’s property violated the Fourth Amendment.
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Michigan Supreme Court
Sep 2023
National Security
Privacy & Technology
Long Lake Township v. Maxon
On September 8, 2023, the ACLU, the ACLU of Michigan, and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy filed an amicus brief in the Michigan Supreme Court arguing that the local government deploying an unmanned drone to take aerial photographs of the appellant’s property violated the Fourth Amendment.
Court Case
May 2023
National Security
Xi v. United States – Challenge to Warrantless Surveillance
The ACLU represents Xiaoxing Xi, a Chinese-American physics professor at Temple University, who is suing the government over its dismissed prosecution of him for supposedly sharing sensitive technology with scientists in China. The lawsuit, filed in 2017, challenges the FBI’s baseless arrest of Xi and it surveillance methods as well as its discriminatory targeting of Chinese-American scientists.
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Court Case
May 2023
National Security
Xi v. United States – Challenge to Warrantless Surveillance
The ACLU represents Xiaoxing Xi, a Chinese-American physics professor at Temple University, who is suing the government over its dismissed prosecution of him for supposedly sharing sensitive technology with scientists in China. The lawsuit, filed in 2017, challenges the FBI’s baseless arrest of Xi and it surveillance methods as well as its discriminatory targeting of Chinese-American scientists.
Florida
May 2023
National Security
Immigrants' Rights
Shen v. Simpson
In May 2023, a group of Chinese citizens who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida filed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s discriminatory property law, SB 264. Signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, the legislation unfairly restricts most Chinese citizens — and most citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea — from purchasing homes and other real estate in Florida after July 1, 2023.
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Florida
May 2023
National Security
Immigrants' Rights
Shen v. Simpson
In May 2023, a group of Chinese citizens who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida filed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s discriminatory property law, SB 264. Signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, the legislation unfairly restricts most Chinese citizens — and most citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea — from purchasing homes and other real estate in Florida after July 1, 2023.