Why is the AMERICAN Civil Liberties Union protecting illegal aliens?

Question

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51658

The ACLU is defending some illegal aliens who crossed the border illegally. Why? They're not Americans. It's the AMERICAN Civil Liberties Union.

Coragryph.. I did read the article. It says that the officer stopped them for failing to signal a lane change. NOT because of their race.

You bring up a good question Dr. M.

Answer 1

This is an easy answer. One of the basic questions on the U.S. citizenship exam is: "Who is granted the rights guaranteed by the constitution", the answer, "anyone in the domain of the United States." This is part of the constitution, whether you are just passing through, here on a student visa, are a citizen, or an illegal alien. To change this, you'd have to amend the constitution. This is why the hostages at GITMO have even been granted a right to a lawyer and a trial, since military bases are considered U.S. domain. Certain privileges are granted by prescription, such as voting, holding elected office, etc. But the rest (i.e., free speech, trial by jury, etc.) are guaranteed to anyone who steps foot in our domain. Just as if American citizen stepped foot in another country, they are no longer protected by the rights of the U.S. constitution, because they are no longer under its domain.

Answer 2

The purpose of the ACLU is to act as gadfly, to keep the Government honest and prevent arbitrariness and discrimination in execution of policy.

It isn't to serve "Americans": anyone, once on American soil, is entitled to Constitutional civil liberties.

What the ACLU does is to get courts to clarify what the law is, and get the police and Border Patrol thereby educated.

If both sides are critizing the ACLU or, for that matter, the NY Times and the Wash Post, they must be doing something right.

The article you cite starts out: "The American Civil Liberties Union is investigating a Rhode Island state trooper who apprehended 14 illegal immigrants during a traffic stop, charging "racial profiling" and insisting the officer had no right to ask for ID."

I am reminded that once, when I was visiting Oregon with my daughter, she was stopped for speeding. Having been rasied in England she speaks with a mild British accent and the trooper insisted on both of us proving our citizenship. He didn't have the right, but in the back of my mind was that if we didn't cooperate the stop was going to take a lot longer than if we did.

That's the problem with racial profiling: it's illegal, but if you don't put up with it the cops will make your life uncomfortable. And worse: cops are not trained in immigration law; indeed it's been hard enough to get DMVs to understand the basics of it. Imagine if I were a First Canadian claiming Jay Treaty (1794) rights; or a Samoan with "noncitizen national" status, or someone from Belau or Micronesia who, similarly, has treaty rights to live and work in the USA visa-free. They may look alien, but they're not. I bet a Rhode Island trooper never heard of those places, either.

Answer 3

Come on people, don't be so hard on the ACLU. This country is all about the right to dissent. The RIGHT to have and exercize an opinion. The right to defend those who are unable to defend themselves.

My daughter-in-law is defending a group of illegals in NYC who were being victimized by an employer who was refusing to pay them because they were here illegally. If they complained he threatened to turn them into the INS. Well, someone got the courage to seek help, and eventually the case landed on my daughter-in-laws desk. And I'm sure she will help them out and get a nice settlement for them. Well, she doesn't work for the ACLU, but rather for a high-powered law firm. And I think they took the case pro-bono. So, It's not about the ACLU, but rather about justice. It actually still matters in some parts of this country.

Would I like to see immigration stopped? Sure. We're running out of space. No other country in the world would put up with such an influx of people storming our shores. But, what can we do? Turn into a bunch of fascists and lock them up, abuse them and then send them home? No, we're still America. We still believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Fortunately for all of us there is the ACLU around to try to prevent the erosion of those ideals. Sure they catch a lot of flak for taking on unpopular defenses. But just as a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link so America is only as strong as the protection we afford the weakest among us. The right would love nothing more than to take those rights from you, in the name of national security, ofcourse.

I have always believed our greatest danger is not from an outside enemy, but rather from our own home-grown right-wing nut cases. No one seriously believed Hitler could possibly come to power in Germany, but he did. And the reason he did was by feeding on the fears and paranoia of the German people. And the first thing he did was do away with civil liberties and the right to criticize the government. Sound familiar?

So hooray for the ACLU! Keep the Faith and fight the good fight 'til the bitter end.

Answer 4

If you read the article, they're not defending the immigrants, they're asking for a probe of the officer's and the departments procedures.

If he had no reason to pull them over, then the arrest is illegal. My cousin once got pulled over just because he had Texas plates, and when my younger cousin (who was 20) was found to be drunk, my cousin was arrested for enablling a minor (or whatever). The judge threw the whole thing out because the deputy admitted that she just pulled him over because she thought it was weird to see Texas plates in that part of the county.

Cops can't just pull anyone over for any reason. There has to be probable cause. If you'd read the entire article that you cite, you'd notice what it's actually about.

------

Melinda, sweetie, look at your own answer for evidence of how stupid you are...Your little joke would be ALCU. To make a point at least try to get your basics correct.

Answer 5

Read the article, not just the headline.

14 people were stopped in Rhode Island purely because of their race, by a non-federal police officer who demanded ID.

State/local police are forbidden by Congress from enforceing immigration laws, and all government officers are forbidden by the Constitution from punishing people based purely on their race.

It doesn't matter whether the people stopped were illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, or US citizens. What the officer did was illegal and a constitutional violation. It doesn't matter who the suspects were.

Answer 6

The ACLU is one of the most foul and disgusting agencys in America. Their agenda goes against the main of this country. They want to defend and embrace the very heart of the invading and attacking forces against us.

Answer 7

That's 'american communist liberation union' by most people's definition, and frankly, if it would really stand to benefit the country, the ACLU's against it. Thanks to them, law enforcement has become half-toothless, and less of a deterrent against violent lawbreakers than it might otherwise be. The scales of justice will never weigh even as long as there's an ACLU lawyer standing on em...too bad the ACLU doesn't try to ply their wares in Mexico, it'd be too funny to see em get deported themselves, probably wake most of em up...

Answer 8

Should that apply to The American Red Cross?

Answer 9

Because the ACLU stands for the American losers club united

Answer 10

They have kept the name but become a general leftist organization adopting, amongst other ideas, the idea that Civil Liberties under our Constitution should be offered to all of the world, as a wealth distribution matter.

However, that is certainly not to be found in any AMERICAN governmental action.