Problem

Protecting civil liberties and human rights for all is a core American value. It defines the nation and is at the heart of the Bill of Rights. But today, the U.S. government is undermining American values by:

• Jailing people and denying them access to lawyers or the courts;
• Conducting secret and unchecked surveillance of people who are not suspected of criminal wrongdoing;
• Selectively enforcing laws based on religion, race or ethnicity, and particularly targeting immigrant communities; and
• Using secrecy to cover up abuses of individual rights.

These actions violate basic rights and the principle of liberty and justice for all. What kind of a country are we if we allow these things to continue? We should not be moving further away from the vision this country was founded upon, but toward it.