The American Civil Liberties Union

"Racial profiling” can hold a variety of meanings. As defined by the American Civil Liberties Union, however, racial profiling is "the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual 's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin" (“Racial Profiling”). Every day, blacks are stopped much more frequently for aimless searches and minor infractions than their white counterparts. Several African Americans share experiences like these, such as Roscoe Van Pelt, who was violently snatched off the street and crammed into a squad car after the ludicrous crime of jaywalking (Walsh). A more extreme example would be the case of Sandra Bland, who was brutally beaten following failure to signal a lane change (Schuppe). Incidents like these occur far too frequently in black communities, all for the color of their skin.

The American Civil Liberties Union is a large and influential non-profit organization that was founded in 1920. The American Civil Liberties Union is a nonpartisan group that serves to protect the individual rights and liberties of American citizens and is considered a powerful interest group, especially within movements that advocate civil rights and civil liberty. Ginsberg, Lowi, Weir, and Tolbert define interests group as “individuals who organize to influence the government’s program and policies” (pg. 455). The American Civil Liberties Union is an effective interest group because of its long and established history of confronting social injustice, its firm and ever increasing membership basis, and its unrelenting persistence to protect and uphold civil rights and civil liberties.

without consequences. This practice is corrupt and police officers who act in these ways should be reprimanded and potentially fired for these actions. Some officers go beyond the law in ways they should be incarcerated as well. America’s governmental practice of excluding these police officers is only promoting these behaviors, and a stop should be put to them. By implementing stricter consequences, officers would be more conscious in their actions but now, it affects them as well.

Interest groups are collections of people with common interests, beliefs, concerns, or goals who advocate for public policies that coincide with their agendas. These groups are most influential when they are formal, have a standardized agenda for policy change, and are non-governmental actors. One of the most recent and crucial issues to many environmentally minded interest groups is the Flint water crisis. Although many local and global organizations seek to provide support and resources for the city of Flint, the three non-economic interest groups that will be discussed in this paper include the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan

This has been a truly exciting year for the ACLU. Whether we’re talking about national wins, like winning the freedom to marry at the Supreme Court, or state-level wins, like California’s groundbreaking reforms to protect digital privacy and fight racial profiling, we have a lot to be proud of. As our closest allies and stalwarts for civil liberties, we would not have such cause for celebration without your vital partnership.

The amount of healthcare our prisoners are allowed is very minuscule when you compare it to a 100% capacity standard. When you have a prison that is at almost 150% to capacity, it turns into being denied basic human hygiene. There have been multiple cases of prisoners being denied hygiene products because of overcrowding that can affect the whole ecosystem. With such a crowded and unhealthy population, you create an environment that is hostile for the prisoners, but can also be a hazard for the employees working there daily. “In such an environment, degrading treatment of prisoners (being denied basic elements of a human life, such as contact with family, adequate health care, hygiene) becomes a constant, while death from untreated disease and suicide (from mental illness) become regular occurrences (Simon, P. 3.) Not only is it harder for the prisons

American  citizens  to  receive  free  quality  health  care,  they  must  be  taken  the  prison,  which

For many years, the government has been using tax papers dollars to fund the lives of criminals locked up in a jail cell or prisons. According to the ALEC (America Legislative Exchange Council), on average per inmate it takes approximately $17,973 to house them. (ALEC American Legislative Exchange Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 06

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was started in 1920 and has since committed itself to the protection of the rights of the American people. With branches in every state, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., the employees work in courtrooms, government agencies, and communities to change policies and laws that infringe on the rights delineated by the Constitution. Their vision is to create an America in which everyone might live freely.

Currently, 30 states and the federal government contract private companies to own and/or operate prison facilities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of inmates held in private prison facilities increased from approximately 7,500 in 1990 to almost 129,000 in 2012 (Austin and Coventry, 2006). The federal government is the largest contractor of private prison facilities, with approximately 33,800 inmates in private prisons, including 16,000 detained immigrants (Ramirez, 2015).” Obviously, lack of medical care is not the only concern regarding prisons. The more incarcerations in private prisons, the increased costs that will remain for taxpayers. Are private prisons as costs effective as they claim to be if their funding is based upon how many inmates they house? “For private prisons to produce growing profits, they must also have a growing inmate population. It is not likely that prison privatization will reduce prison costs (Schultz, 2015).” Because of private prisons financial benefit from prisoners, there will be no costs advantage associated with their use. “Economist are skeptical that private prisons save money. Some government officials have also begun to question whether costs are truly being reduced (Schultz, 2015).” What is unsettling about private prisons is their false portrayal of being a cost efficient alternative when taxpayers continue to foot the bill. “Taxpayers

The Department of Homeland Security stated that it cost sixty-five thousand dollars to detain and deport one illegal immigrant. Every year, Homeland Security detains and deports thirty-seven thousand illegal aliens. About two and a half billion dollars a year to repeat the

Guantanamo Bay opened in 2002 and since then more than 700 detainees have been held there. In 1991, approximately 34,000 Haitian refugees are detained on the base after they flee a coup in Haiti. In 1994-1995, more than 55,000 Cubans and Haitians, captured at sea, are kept at Guantanamo. These are not considered detainees because they are not American prisoners, but Cuban. At its peak in 2003, Guantanamo held nearly 680 detainees, and there were about 245 when President Obama took office. The life standards at Guantanamo are the worst in human history. Murat Kurnaz spent five years in Guantanamo and below are some facts from his book. When he was

Due to his extremist ways of expressing himself and the ideas he has been pushing through the year, a lot of people and organizations have been created and reinforced to counteract on his acts. One great example of this is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which strives to not only protects immigrants from unjust treatment, but to make sure they keep their civil liberties as well as their civil rights.

William Noel, who is a medical expert retained by the American Civil Liberties Union, he was sent to Ely State Prison in Ely, Nevada. He found a very bad living condition and the medical treatment was far from standard. While he was investigating this prison, he found 60 deaths in record already. "the most shocking and callous disregard for human life and human suffering that I have ever encountered in the medical profession in my 35 years of practice." said Noel (“Healthcare at Ely…”, 2010). 2. Sample Case: Another case is after they were released. More than 735,000 prisoners are released from U.S. confinement every year, and the problem is while they were living in jail with no health care; the symptom that occurred in that time was not diagnosed, so they don’t even know that they got ill when the time that illness become severe, it is too late to cure. Moreover, 700 hundred people is not little, so they should be considered (Mears & Cochran,

The Human rights campaign is an interest group which in fact deals with human rights. This group has expanded over the years and has a huge influence on the world today. The human rights campaign has had a lot of success in and out of the white house. Some issues that the HRC deals with are gay rights, transgender equality and hate crimes. The HRC are very dynamic and cater to a lot of needs.