Center for Constitutional Rights

nytimes.comhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/19/us/politics/supreme-court-mahmoud-khalil-deportation.html

Breaking! Today, Mahmoud Khalil asked SCOTUS to review his case. The petition challenges the appeal court's ruling—arguing that the federal courts have always had the authority to deem unconstitutional detention by the executive and to order their release. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/19/u...

We're not giving up the fight. Today Mahmoud Khalil asked SCOTUS to review the case challenging his detention after the appeals court in January overturned a lower court’s order that released him. More: bit.ly/mahmoud-petitions-SCOTUS

ccrjustice.orgCourt Rejects Bulk of Trump Administration's Rationale for Keeping Boat Strikes Memo SecretAs the government continues to bomb civilians in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, this decision ordering in camera review of the memo is a crucial win for transparency and accountability September 3

BREAKING: Trump admin must turn over secret boat strikes memo. This decision ordering in camera review of the memo is a crucial win for transparency and accountability. ccrjustice.org/home/press-c...

According to the latest federal monitor report, 13 years after the historic decision that ruled stop and frisk unconstitutional, the NYPD still fails to accurately document Terry stops (i.e. stop and frisk). "Persistent underreporting reflects an ongoing lack of accountability," reads the report.

ccrjustice.orgNYPD Underreporting Stop and Frisks by Almost 30 Percent, Court-Appointed Monitor FindsConcealing stops incompatible with constitutional policing, monitor says; stop-and-frisk attorneys respondSeptember 28, 2026, 2026, New York – The court-appointed monitor in the landmark stop-and-fris

Read more on our website: ccrjustice.org/home/press-c...

Three years into the genocide in Gaza, Netanyahu will duck in and out of the U.S., a wanted criminal and blood-soaked pariah.

mississippitoday.orgICE detainees denounce conditions in Natchez facility - Mississippi TodayThe Workers Circle, a New York-based national social justice organization, coordinated a news conference. with immigration detainees at Adams County Detention Center and family members.

21 Sept

What happens if habeas is—de facto—unavailable? That's the question facing detainees at Adams County detention center, where there's a backlog of 800+ cases. "The government can just take you and detain you and put you in custody without any recourse." mississippitoday.org/2026/09/21/i...

17 Sept

Yesterday our board member, Prof. Noura Erakat, was arrested while joining 100 South Florida residents to give comments against Israel Bonds during the public Palm Beach County Budget hearing.

17 Sept

We stand in solidarity with Prof. Erakat and join her and South Florida residents in calling on Palm Beach County officials to end its $1 billion in Israeli bonds investments—money that is used to murder Palestinians.

bostonreview.netSadistic, Blatant, and WantonImpunity for U.S. atrocities after 9/11 paved the way for rank authoritarianism and forever war—all of it enabled by an imperial Supreme Court.

11 Sept

Legal Director Baher Azmy in the Boston Review: following 9/11 "the United States’s totalizing military response has never come to an end." U.S. impunity "paved the way for rank authoritarianism and forever war—all of it enabled by an imperial Supreme Court." www.bostonreview.net/articles/sad...

10 Sept

We're hiring! Donor Relations Officer - apply by 9/22! Policy Advocacy Associate - apply by 10/6! Ella Baker Summer Interns - apply by 9/29! More details on each role and information on how to apply at bit.ly/ccr-jobs. No phone calls please!

propublica.orgThese Judges Take Months to Decide If Immigrants Have Been Unlawfully DetainedJudges in some parts of the country have taken months to adjudicate immigrants’ claims of unlawful imprisonment, our analysis of 70,000 habeas petition cases found. Some detainees are asking to be…

9 Sept

The sheer speed and impunity with which ICE is abducting and detaining people is overwhelming to the courts and advocates. We must ensure that habeas remains the “swift and flexible” remedy for unlawful detention that it has been for centuries. www.propublica.org/article/ice-...

9 Sept

It's been 25 years since 9/11. 25 years of a “war on terror” rooted in white supremacy, patriarchy, colonialism, and Christian nationalism. Every administration since – Bush, Obama, and Biden – has contributed to this impunity, and we are paying with Trump's admin. ccrjustice.org/home/press-c...

theintercept.comThe U.S. Has Killed 227 Civilians in Boat Strikes During “A Year of Murders”“The boat strikes are, perhaps, the most stark testament to the lawlessness of the Trump administration.”

3 Sept

We've said it before and we'll say it again. These boat strikes are murder, plain and simple. Extrajudicial killing is prohibited under federal law and international human rights law. There is no bona fide armed conflict that could justify these actions.

Chris Hayes@chrislhayes.bsky.social

I don’t think there’s really even a colorable argument that this isn’t mass murder. theintercept.com/2026/09/02/m...

1 Sept

FREE: Join us TOMORROW as we discuss the merger of the war on drugs and the war on terror, and how it's been used to justify abuse of governmental power (including Trump's boat strike murders) while distracting from the gutting of lifesaving public health services. bit.ly/War-On-Drugs-Sept

nytimes.comhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/us/politics/abu-ghraib-verdict-overturned.html

28 Aug

As radical and regressive as the Supreme Court’s decision in Cisco is, it will never change this fundamental truth: a jury heard voluminous testimony and unanimously concluded CACI was responsible for the torture and abuse of dozens of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/u...

ccrjustice.orgAmid Reports of Mass Visa ‘Pause,’ Groups File Emergency Motion to Enforce Court Order Striking Down 75-Country Visa BanAugust 26, 2026, New York — Immigrant families, workers, and legal assistance groups harmed by the Trump administration’s 75-country ban on immigrant visas filed an emergency motion to enforce Friday’

26 Aug

🚨BREAKING🚨 Amidst reports that the Trump administration has paused visa applications worldwide for a so-called training program, we’ve filed an emergency motion to enforce last week’s judgement that struck down the administration’s “public charge” visa ban. ccrjustice.org/home/press-c...

ccrjustice.orgFederal Court Strikes Down Trump’s Discriminatory 75-Country Visa BanAugust 21, 2026, New York — In a major victory for families, fairness, and the rule of law, a federal court in New York struck down the Trump administration’s blanket, nationality-based “public charge

22 Aug

Breaking! In a victory for families and fairness, a federal court today struck down the Trump administration's blanket, nationality-based "public charge" — a racist ban on immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries. ccrjustice.org/home/press-c...

ccrjustice.orgImmigrant Families, Workers, Legal Assistance Groups Challenge Trump Admin’s 75-Country Visa Ban in Federal CourtFebruary 2, 2026, New York — A group of United States citizens petitioning on behalf of their immigrant family members, together with working people facing exclusion from the U.S.

22 Aug

The illicit ban that was struck down today stripped families and working people of the process guaranteed by the law. Read our press release of the original filing here: ccrjustice.org/home/press-c...

ccrjustice.orgThis Black August, We're Commemorating Black ResistanceThis month is a time for solidarity with Black liberation movements and Black political prisoners worldwide

19 Aug

Black August is a time of study, reflection, solidarity with liberation movements across the Black African diaspora, and recommitment to the freedom of all Black political prisoners worldwide. Learn more about our Black August work and this year's offerings here: ccrjustice.org/home/blog/20...

Our client, Mahmoud Khalil, spoke with the @newyorker.com to discuss his life under the threat of deportation, and what it was like prior to and after his detainment.

“The case against Mahmoud is nothing but an authoritarian diktat. ‘We don’t like what you have to say, so we are going to use the full weight of the federal government to make you leave.’ ” — Baher Azmy, Legal Director

newyorker.comHow Far Will the Trump Administration Go to Deport Mahmoud Khalil?Khalil protested Israel as a student at Columbia. Now he’s on the verge of being kicked out of the country.

Read the full piece below. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Our client, Mahmoud Khalil, spoke with the @newyorker.com to discuss his life under the threat of deportation, and what it was like prior to and after his detainment.

“Khalil moved to Manhattan in 2022, and he adapted quickly to American culture. At Columbia, where he was a master’s student in public and international affairs, he became perhaps the most visible pro-Palestine activist.”

“‘I’ve got a special phone, with a bunch of numbers preloaded,’ [Khalil] told me.” “If he was out somewhere, and ice agents ambushed him, ‘I can press one button, in my pocket, and Noor and all the lawyers will be notified.’”

npr.orgAn anti-KKK law is being used to sue the Trump admin. Will it work? : Code SwitchMahmoud Khalil is suing the Trump administration, alleging a "public-private conspiracy" to punish him for pro-Palestinian speech. The law he's using dates back to 1871 — it's called the Ku Klux Klan ...

On August 4th, @npr.org’s Code Switch covered our lawsuit against senior Trump administration officials and three anti-Palestinian groups: the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission, and Betar. www.npr.org/2026/08/04/n...

ccrjustice.orgKhalil v. The Heritage Foundation et al.The Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mahmoud Khalil under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, alleging that he was the target of a conspiracy between private actors and federal

The lawsuit says that officials in the administration conspired with these groups to terrorize and make an example of Mahmoud because of his Palestinian identity and advocacy. This case was brought under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. Learn more below. ccrjustice.org/home/what-we...

Center for Constitutional Rights reposted

American Friends Service Committee

@afsc-org.bsky.social

quaker.org.ukUS Quakers and others sue Trump administration over targeting ICCAFSC argues the Trump administration is illegally sanctioning individuals and organisations working with the International Criminal Court.

Last week, @afsc-org.bsky.social, @ccrjustice.org, @hrw.org, & Open Society Institute filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over their targeting of the ICC. Read more from @quaker.org.uk:

15 Aug

Join us and the Highlander Center on Friday, August 21, at 7:00 p.m. ET for a screening at Hayti Heritage Center of the landmark 1972 film Sambizanga, followed by a group discussion moderated by cultural organizer Marcella Zigbuo Camara of Second Daughter Cinema.

15 Aug

This event is part of our annual recognition of Black August, a month-long commemoration dedicated to paying homage to fallen Black revolutionaries, incarcerated freedom fighters, and the global Black liberation struggle, historical and ongoing.

15 Aug

Today we filed an appeal on behalf of Amanda Wallace, a Durham activist protesting family separation who was silenced with a no-contact order issued under the North Carolina Workplace Violence Prevention Act. This appeal was filed with the @movfamilypower.bsky.social and @aclunc.bsky.social.

The appeal asks the North Carolina Court of Appeals to vacate the no-contact order, affirm that Ms. Wallace's advocacy is protected by the First Amendment, and affirm that the WVPA cannot be used to suppress protected political speech.

Learn more about the appeal on our website. ccrjustice.org/home/press-c...

The appeal argues that the no-contact order violates the First Amendment in two ways. First, by restricting Ms. Wallace’s freedom of movement and speech in response to protected criticism of a public official.

And second, by imposing unconstitutional restrictions on her political advocacy, including restrictions on the words she can use. It also argues that the WVPA cannot be leveraged to punish non-violent protest.

NEW FILING: Today, four human rights groups filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on August 11, 2026, alleging that the Trump administration is illegally sanctioning and criminalizing individuals and organizations affiliated with or assisting the work of the ICC.

Read the full press release on our website. ccrjustice.org/home/press-c...

Head to the case page to learn more about the filing. ccrjustice.org/home/what-we...

We joined the American Friends Service Committee, Human Rights Watch, and the Open Society Institute in this filing. We state that state that the sanctions are a blatantly illegal attack on international justice and should be struck down.

“All victims of international crimes – from Sudan and Ukraine to Palestine and Afghanistan – need and deserve to have an independent and strong ICC able to fulfill its mission of ending impunity, without fear or favor.” — Katherine Gallagher, Senior Staff Attorney

6 Aug

In a victory for academic freedom, University of Minnesota reaches settlement with holocaust scholar Dr. Raz Segal whose job offer was pulled for penning a groundbreaking op-ed on Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. More: ccrjustice.org/home/press-center

In recent months, federal agencies have deleted major criminal legal datasets: a database tracking police misconduct, data on gender identity in federal prisons, stats on racial disparities in the juvenile justice system.

It includes real examples of records requests that worked, guidance on sealed court records, and strategies for preserving data before it disappears.

justjournalism.orgFor the Record: A Transparency Toolkit for Criminal Legal ReportersResources for accessing data, court records, and public records from criminal legal agencies

Read the full toolkit: justjournalism.org/page/for-the...

States are moving too – a growing number are passing laws that make it harder to get records on how government decisions get made.

Today, with Public Justice (@publicjustice.bsky.social) and the Center for Just Journalism we're releasing For the Record: a toolkit for finding data and filing records requests across the whole criminal legal system – police, courts, jails, prisons, parole boards, youth justice.

ccrjustice.orgThe BlogSubscribe

31 July

New on the blog! "Trump is Turning 'Counterterrorism' into an International Campaign Against the Left" by Associate Director of Political Education and Research Samer Araabi.