Yes, it’s true. The President signed the National Defense Authorization Act.  A majority of phone calls with questions, comments, or concerns we’ve received in the past month have been about NDAA. Of specific concern are the sweeping provisions that allow for indefinite detention of people captured in any battlefield provision and for indefinite imprisonment of American citizens without charge or trial.
 
One senator gave a disturbing testimony when the bill was up for discussion. Here you can see him say about suspected Al-Qaeda helpers, “You want a lawyer? We’re gonna say, ‘shut up! You don’t get a lawyer.’” For many people, access to decent legal representation already presents a significant challenge. Revoking an American citizen’s right to counsel is troubling unconstitutional.   
 
National’s Exeuctive Director had these words to say about the signing of the bill, “Thankfully, we have three branches of government, and the final word belongs to the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the scope of detention authority. But Congress and the president also have a role to play in cleaning up the mess they have created because no American citizen or anyone else should live in fear of this or any future president misusing the NDAA’s detention authority.”
 
Sign the ACLU’s pledge to fight worldwide indefinite detention for as long as it takes.