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Immigrant Rights

Updated 07.12.11 Laws passed targeting immigrants are eventually extended to all citizens; for this reason, basic civil liberties, like the right to due process, must be protected for everyone. While the Constitution does not give people the right to enter the U.S., it protects them once they are here from discrimination based on race and national origin and from arbitrary treatment by the government.

What’s happening in Ohio


Local Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws
Introduced in February 2011, Ohio Senate Bill 98 would allow local police to enforce immigration laws, potentially leading to mistaken arrests, racial profiling, and the misdirection of funds away from basic protective services.

In 2007, the Ohio Attorney General issued an opinion advising that Ohio law permits county sheriffs to enter into agreements with the federal government to enforce criminal violations of immigration law, but Ohio law prohibits sheriffs from enforcing civil violations of immigration law.


What’s happening Nationally


Arizona's Anti-Immigration Law
In April 2010, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed SB 1070, an anti-immigrant law that effectively requires police to engage in racial profiling. MALDEF, the ACLU, and the National Immigration Law Center announced that they will sue to block the law from going into effect. The U.S. Department of Justice has also sued, and several of the laws provisions have been blocked, pending the case’s resolution. Read more.

The law has inspired similar laws in other states, including Alabama. In response to these unconstitutional laws, the ACLU of Ohio issued a travel advisory and wallet card for Ohioans to protect themselves from unfair racial profiling and inform them of their rights when stopped by police. Click here to view the press release and materials. En Espanol.


Reform Is Needed
The ACLU believes immigration policies can be reformed and still respect civil liberties. To that end, the ACLU opposes any policies that include:

  • mandatory detention and/or deportation of anyone that an immigration officer thinks is an undocumented person;
  • requiring or encouraging local authorities to enforce federal immigration laws;
  • indefinitely detaining an undocumented person who can't be returned to his/her home country of origin for political or other reasons;
  • removing constitutional due process protections and access to the courts for immigrants;
  • requiring employers to stand in the place of immigration agents by verifying worker eligibility using federal databases; or
  • requiring a biometric national ID.


Resources

Visit our Racial Justice and Police Practices issues page for more information about immigration issues.

Check out our Publications page or Immigration Advocacy Toolkit for more resources on immigration issues and immigrant rights.

ACLU Immigrant Rights Project, News and resources about immigrant rights

American Immigration Council, Publications and news about legal and legislative issues affecting immigrants’ rights

American Immigration Lawyers Association, Information for and about immigration attorneys

Deportation by Default: Mental Disability, Unfair Hearings, and Indefinite Detention in the US Immigration System, American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch, July 2010

Know Your Rights When Encountering Law Enforcement, American Civil Liberties Union (En espaņol)

Pew Research Center, Demographic information and trends related to immigration

Read immigration news releases and articles in our News Center.

Browse our webcasts for immigration-related programs:
Audio webcasts
Video webcasts