Immigrant Rights

Since this nation's founding, more than 55 million immigrants from every continent have settled in the United States. In fact, with the exception of Native Americans, everyone living in this country is either an immigrant or the descendent of voluntary or involuntary immigrants.

Yet every wave of immigration has faced fear and hostility, especially during times of economic hardship, political turmoil, or war:

In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, one of our nation's first immigration laws, to keep out all people of Chinese origin;

During the "Red Scare" of the 1920s, thousands of foreign-born people suspected of political radicalism were arrested and brutalized; many were deported without a hearing;

In 1942, 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent were interned in camps until the end of World War II;

Since September 2001 thousands of non citizens have been indefinitely detained with no evidence of wrongdoing.

It is true that the Constitution does not give foreigners the right to enter the U.S. But once here, it protects them from discrimination based on race and national origin and from arbitrary treatment by the government. Immigrants work and pay taxes; legal immigrants are subject to the military draft. Many immigrants have lived in this country for decades, married U.S. citizens, and raised their U.S.-citizen children. Laws that punish them violate their fundamental right to fair and equal treatment.

The ACLU has been one of the nation's leading advocates for the rights of immigrants, refugees and non-citizens, challenging unconstitutional laws and practices, countering the myths upon which many of these laws are based.

If you have been stopped on the basis of your perceived immigration status by a police officer, please let us know.

Publications

Know Your Rights: When Encountering Law Enforcement

Bustcards

The Rights of Immigrants
ACLU position paper

MBTA: Know Your Rights | Conozca Sus Derechos En El MBTA (Spanish)

Know Your Rights: Immigrant Marches / Marchas de los Inmigrantes

Acerca de la Union Americana de Libertades Civiles (Spanish)