From: Matt Howes, National Internet Organizer, ACLU
To: ACLU Action Network
Date: January 13, 2003

1) Oppose the INS Roundup!

For more than a year now, the Bush administration has launched fierce and unquestionably damaging attacks on the civil liberties of every American. Particularly frightening is the government's continuous racial, religious and ethnic profiling of Arabs, Muslims and South Asians.

The latest in the government's series of ill-conceived and discriminatory policies is the implementation of the Special Call-In Registration System. The Department of Justice has issued three notices since November requiring all nonimmigrant men over the age of 16 who are from a list of 18 Muslim countries, North Korea and Eritrea to register in person at Immigration and Naturalization Service offices before certain deadlines and to check in regularly with the government every year thereafter.

This campaign to register all Arab and Muslim men is not only ineffective and wrong, it has also been horribly implemented. Officials have not appropriately or adequately publicized the new requirements, did not immediately and accurately translate the notices into all appropriate languages and did not allow enough time for individuals to learn of the requirements and then register. Further, the INS did not provide a registration facility in every state.

Take Action! You can learn more and send a FREE FAX to Congress and tell them that selective registration of people because of their national origin is wrong and sets a dangerous precedent.

http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11561&c=206

2) Support Equal Access to Higher Education!

For the first time in 20 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to revisit the issue of affirmative action in university admissions. The Court has announced that it will review two cases challenging the affirmative action programs at the University of Michigan: one involving the law school and the other the university's undergraduate program.

A Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action could result in the immediate resegregation of our nation's top universities, both public and private. Between 1996 and 2001 the number of minorities admitted to the University of Texas at Austin dropped by 35 percent following a lower court decision that struck down the University's affirmative action program. Diversity enriches students' educational experience by exposing them to different cultures, languages, philosophies, and ideas. Despite the gains made during the civil rights era, racism and sexism still persist in education. For the past thirty years, affirmative action has been the most effective tool we have in redressing the injustices caused by centuries of discrimination in our country. Affirmative action ensures that qualified individuals have equal access to opportunities.

The Bush Administration has not yet stated support for affirmative action. It is crucial that President Bush signal his commitment to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education by filing a brief in support of affirmative action with the Supreme Court.

Take Action! You can learn more and send a FREE FAX to President Bush asking him to come out in support of affirmative action.

http://www.aclu.org/RacialEquality/RacialEquality.cfm?ID=11571&c=134

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