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
Virginia
Dec 2024
National Security
Trabelsi v. Crawford, et al. – Lawsuit Challenging Unlawful Detention and Inhumane Treatment of Acquitted Man
Our client, Nizar Trabelsi, is in the United States against his will. The federal government brought him here from Belgium more than a decade ago and charged him with terrorism-related crimes. At trial, the government’s case failed: a federal jury found Mr. Trabelsi not guilty. But instead of allowing Mr. Trabelsi to return to Belgium after his acquittal, the United States placed him in highly restrictive immigration detention and began an ongoing effort to force him to Tunisia, where he was born and where he will very likely be tortured.
Mr. Trabelsi’s detention violates the Constitution, immigration law, and the extradition treaty between the United States and Belgium. Through this lawsuit, he seeks to return to Belgium, and he demands an immediate improvement of his detention conditions.
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Virginia
Dec 2024
National Security
Trabelsi v. Crawford, et al. – Lawsuit Challenging Unlawful Detention and Inhumane Treatment of Acquitted Man
Our client, Nizar Trabelsi, is in the United States against his will. The federal government brought him here from Belgium more than a decade ago and charged him with terrorism-related crimes. At trial, the government’s case failed: a federal jury found Mr. Trabelsi not guilty. But instead of allowing Mr. Trabelsi to return to Belgium after his acquittal, the United States placed him in highly restrictive immigration detention and began an ongoing effort to force him to Tunisia, where he was born and where he will very likely be tortured.
Mr. Trabelsi’s detention violates the Constitution, immigration law, and the extradition treaty between the United States and Belgium. Through this lawsuit, he seeks to return to Belgium, and he demands an immediate improvement of his detention conditions.
U.S. Supreme Court
Nov 2024
National Security
Connell v. CIA – FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records About CIA “Operational Control” Over a Detention Facility at Guantánamo Bay
The CIA has refused to disclose whether it has records about its operational control over Camp VII, a detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. Given the extensive public record about the CIA’s connection to Camp VII, its refusal to acknowledge that it has responsive records both violates the law and defies common sense. At stake is whether the court will reject the CIA’s version of official secrecy and call out its fiction of deniability or whether it will allow that fiction to stand.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Nov 2024
National Security
Connell v. CIA – FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records About CIA “Operational Control” Over a Detention Facility at Guantánamo Bay
The CIA has refused to disclose whether it has records about its operational control over Camp VII, a detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. Given the extensive public record about the CIA’s connection to Camp VII, its refusal to acknowledge that it has responsive records both violates the law and defies common sense. At stake is whether the court will reject the CIA’s version of official secrecy and call out its fiction of deniability or whether it will allow that fiction to stand.
New York
Jul 2024
National Security
ACLU v. DOJ – FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records About the Use of JTTFs and Fusion Centers to Target Protesters and Communities of Color
Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) and fusion centers are joint federal-state law enforcement intelligence hubs with a long history of investigating, collecting, and disseminating information on protesters and communities of color, but the public has little information about how these entities work and their impact on our rights. In May 2024, the ACLU filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act seeking the release of records on the use of JTTFs and fusion centers to target protesters and communities of color and the adequacy of the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties policies that apply to them. When the government failed to release records, we filed suit in July 2024 to compel public disclosure of these documents.
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New York
Jul 2024
National Security
ACLU v. DOJ – FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records About the Use of JTTFs and Fusion Centers to Target Protesters and Communities of Color
Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) and fusion centers are joint federal-state law enforcement intelligence hubs with a long history of investigating, collecting, and disseminating information on protesters and communities of color, but the public has little information about how these entities work and their impact on our rights. In May 2024, the ACLU filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act seeking the release of records on the use of JTTFs and fusion centers to target protesters and communities of color and the adequacy of the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties policies that apply to them. When the government failed to release records, we filed suit in July 2024 to compel public disclosure of these documents.
Montana
May 2024
National Security
Alario v. Knudsen (Amicus)
In April 2023, Montana’s state legislature passed SB 419, an Act Banning TikTok in Montana. This law imposes a sweeping ban on free expression—one that would prevent everyday Montanans from using TikTok to communicate with immense audiences, access information from around the world, and express themselves. This ban flouts the First Amendment and tramples Montanans’ constitutional right to freedom of speech—that’s why the ACLU, ACLU of Montana, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and a coalition of civil society organizations filed amicus briefs in the district court and the Ninth Circuit urging the courts to block the law from going into effect. Through these briefs, we continue to fight to ensure that no legislature can ban Americans from using an immensely popular platform for online speech based on vague invocations of “national security” or anti-China rhetoric.
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Montana
May 2024
National Security
Alario v. Knudsen (Amicus)
In April 2023, Montana’s state legislature passed SB 419, an Act Banning TikTok in Montana. This law imposes a sweeping ban on free expression—one that would prevent everyday Montanans from using TikTok to communicate with immense audiences, access information from around the world, and express themselves. This ban flouts the First Amendment and tramples Montanans’ constitutional right to freedom of speech—that’s why the ACLU, ACLU of Montana, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and a coalition of civil society organizations filed amicus briefs in the district court and the Ninth Circuit urging the courts to block the law from going into effect. Through these briefs, we continue to fight to ensure that no legislature can ban Americans from using an immensely popular platform for online speech based on vague invocations of “national security” or anti-China rhetoric.
Court Case
May 2024
National Security
ACLU v. NSA – FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records About the NSA’s Use of Artificial Intelligence
The National Security Agency (NSA)—one of the country’s biggest intelligence agencies—has been rapidly developing and deploying AI, but we still know remarkably little about this transformation and its impact on civil rights and civil liberties. As the NSA increasingly integrates AI into its daily operations and some of its most profound decisions, it has left the public largely in the dark about how it is using AI and what safeguards, if any, are in place to protect everyday Americans. In March 2024, the ACLU filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act seeking the release of recently completed studies, roadmaps, and reports that show how the NSA is using AI and how those tools affect people’s privacy and civil liberties. When the government failed to release the documents sought in our FOIA request, we filed suit in April 2024 to challenge this unjustified secrecy and compel public disclosure of these documents.
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Court Case
May 2024
National Security
ACLU v. NSA – FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records About the NSA’s Use of Artificial Intelligence
The National Security Agency (NSA)—one of the country’s biggest intelligence agencies—has been rapidly developing and deploying AI, but we still know remarkably little about this transformation and its impact on civil rights and civil liberties. As the NSA increasingly integrates AI into its daily operations and some of its most profound decisions, it has left the public largely in the dark about how it is using AI and what safeguards, if any, are in place to protect everyday Americans. In March 2024, the ACLU filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act seeking the release of recently completed studies, roadmaps, and reports that show how the NSA is using AI and how those tools affect people’s privacy and civil liberties. When the government failed to release the documents sought in our FOIA request, we filed suit in April 2024 to challenge this unjustified secrecy and compel public disclosure of these documents.