ACLU on the Right To Travel

The ACLU of Southern California has just filed suit alleging that thousands of people have been added to the no-fly list and barred from commercial travel, without any opportunity to learn about or refute the basis for their inclusion on the list. It's a new crime called "Flying While Muslim."It is also interested in opposing Arizona's anti-immigrant law. For details, see the following e-mail dated July 4 from Ramona Ripston, Executive Director, ACLU of Southern California.

Are You Afraid to Travel This 4th of July? You're Not Alone.

Ramona Ripston
Executive Director of the ACLU of Southern California

This Fourth of July — as Americans head for our nation's highways and airports, to connect with families for barbeques and fireworks — I'm going to have a hard time focusing on the fun. I'm distracted by thoughts about some U.S. residents who are terrified of traveling.They're scared because some parts of the federal government, and some state governments, seem determined to make it a crime for minorities to travel in this country. The possibility of being denied access to an airplane seat — or being arrested while driving across state boundaries — is far too real this year.At the Long Beach, CA, airport, a 28-year-old married student, Halime Sat, tried to board a plane to Oakland, CA. She was denied access. Ms. Sat, a resident of Corona, CA, has suddenly been put on the government's no-fly list. She has no criminal record nor affiliation with any outlawed organization anywhere in the world. The only crime committed by this young German citizen, who is married to an American: Flying while Muslim.

Save the Date

Racial Profiling
Hearing in Los Angeles

Have you or your family been affected by racial profiling by immigration officers or local police? We need you to testify to get national decision makers to face the truth on racial profiling and change our policies.Attend the hearing and support human and civil rights. Listen to testimony on racial profiling or record a video testimony on site. You must sign up for testimony in advance. To participate, contact Elvia Meza at (213) 977-5205.Monday, July 12
10 a.m. — 3 p.m.
Phoenix Hall
10950 South Central Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90059This event is free and no RSVP is required.Presented by the ACLU of Southern California, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC), and other organizations.

Ms. Sat is one of a ten plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed this week by the American Civil Liberties Union, alleging that thousands of people have been added to the no-fly list and barred from commercial travel, without any opportunity to learn about or refute the basis for their inclusion on the list.While Muslim residents like Ms. Sat are being kept off our nation's airlines, Latinos in the Southwest are worried about what might happen to them on the Arizona highways. The ACLU of Southern California is so concerned about what the Arizona police might do this heavy-travel weekend that we have issued a "travel alert" to educate Latinos (but not just Latinos) about the dangers of driving to Arizona.The ACLU is distributing a cardboard "pocket guide" in Spanish and English, explaining what to do if people are stopped by the police in Arizona, who are now required to investigate the immigration status of every person they come across whom they have "reasonable suspicion" to believe is in the country unlawfully. The police's new powers are so broad, they've created a new Arizona-specific crime: Driving while Latino.At the ACLU, we have created a nationwide campaign around it: What Happens in Arizona Stops in Arizona. So please, if you're traveling to Arizona, be prepared and know your rights. Freedoms — and how hard we have fought to earn them — this is what I'll be thinking about when I watch the 'bombs bursting in air' at my family's Fourth of July celebration.

Best wishes,Ramona Ripston
Executive Director of the ACLU of Southern CaliforniaFor more information about what you can do, contact your ACLU/SC Take Action Team at field@aclu-sc.org or (213) 977-9500. Read more of Ramona's remarks.

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Are You Afraid to Travel This 4th of July? You're Not Alone.

Save the Date

Racial ProfilingHearing in Los Angeles

Racial Profiling
Hearing in Los Angeles