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Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have initiated sweeping programs that amount to racial profiling on a federal scale. There have been countless instances of Arab and Muslim Americans from all parts of the country being suspected and detained on the basis of their ethnicity and religious beliefs. The ACLU has provided legal support to a growing number of people who have been the victims of racial and ethnic discrimination.

Designating Non-Profits As Terrorist Organizations Without Due Process Undermines Security And Humanitarian Aid, Say Groups (02/27/2009)
TOLEDO, OH – Several of the nation's top non-profit humanitarian and philanthropic organizations told a federal court today that the government's authority and conduct in freezing a charity's assets undermines critical humanitarian aid and the government's own anti-terrorism efforts. Grantmakers Without Borders, OMB Watch, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and several other organizations made this argument in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in support of due process rights for KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and several civil rights lawyers.

ACLU Statement Regarding False Accusations Against Islamic Society Of North America (01/18/2009)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union represents the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and another mainstream Muslim organization, the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), in an effort to clear their designations as "unindicted co-conspirators" by prosecutors in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case. Neither organization was the subject of a criminal investigation or charged with any crime.

ACLU Challenges Government's Authority To Designate Charities As Terrorists Without Due Process Or Court Oversight (11/21/2008)
TOLEDO, OH – A federal court should block the government from blacklisting an Ohio-based charity without providing it due process and should lift a freeze on the organization's assets, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and several civil rights lawyers argued today. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) froze the funds of KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. more than 33 months ago without notice or a hearing, based simply on the assertion that the charity was "under investigation." OFAC then threatened to designate KindHearts as a "specially designated global terrorist" (SDGT) based on classified evidence, again without providing it with a reason or meaningful opportunity to defend itself.

Sweeping Homeland Security Investigation Of Muslims Was Unconstitutional And Discriminatory, Says ACLU (10/31/2008)
WASHINGTON – A report in today’s New York Times revealed details of a 2004 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) anti-terrorism program that, despite government claims to the contrary, used racial profiling. More than 2,000 Muslim immigrants were investigated in the lead up to the 2004 elections, and many were interrogated right before the November election. Despite the investment of considerable resources, “Operation Front Line” produced minimal results. Most of those investigated were found to have done nothing wrong.

ACLU Challenges Threat By Government To Designate Charity As "Terrorist" (10/09/2008)
TOLEDO, OH – The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and several civil rights lawyers today asked a federal court to block the government from blacklisting an Ohio-based charity, KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc., without due process. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) froze the group's assets more than 31 months ago, without notice or a hearing, based simply on the assertion that KindHearts was "under investigation." OFAC has since threatened to designate KindHearts as a "specially designated global terrorist" based on classified evidence, again without providing KindHearts with a reason or meaningful opportunity to defend itself.

Racial Profiling Since 9/11 report (02/26/2004)
Sanctioned Bias: Racial Profiling Since 9/11

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. v. Paulson et al. - Amicus Brief (02/27/2009)

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. v. Geithner et al. - Reply Brief (02/02/2009)

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. v. Geithner et al. - Second Declaration of Alan R. Kabat (02/02/2009)

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. v. Geithner et al. - Judge's Protective Order Ruling (01/30/2009)

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. v. Paulson et al. - Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (11/21/2008)

Coalition Memo to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Regarding "Homegrown Terrorism" (05/07/2008)

ACLU Statement Submitted by Timothy Edgar, Legislative Counsel, at a Citizen's Forum on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties After September 11, 2001 Before Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee (10/13/2004)

Statements of Support for UCC Clients (07/21/2008)
Statements of Support for UCC Clients

Military Commissions Act of 2006: Document Resources (03/13/2007)
News, blog entries, legal documents and more on the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

FBI Interviews (08/05/2004)

Archive: Other Discrimination (04/28/2004)

Archive: Special Registration (04/28/2004)

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. v. Paulson et al. (10/09/2008)
KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. was established in 2002 – after the government shut down a number of Muslim charities – with the express purpose of providing humanitarian aid abroad and at home in the United States in full compliance with the law. In February 2006, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) froze the funds of KindHearts without notice or a hearing, based simply on the assertion that the charity was "under investigation." OFAC then threatened to designate KindHearts as a "specially designated global terrorist" (SDGT) based on classified evidence, again without providing it with a reason or meaningful opportunity to defend itself. In October 2008, a federal judge granted the ACLU's request for an emergency order blocking the government from designating KindHearts as an SDGT without further judicial review.