This Week in Civil Liberties: Immigration Reform, CISPA, and Forced Blood Tests

Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation.

Immigration Reform
The highly anticipated comprehensive immigration reform bill dropped this week. At the ACLU, we celebrate the possibility of a pathway to citizenship for more than 11 million people in this country. As you can read here, eight in 10 Americans support a fair immigration system.  While the bill as drafted contains some concerning provisions (See our blog about the E-verify system), we are, on the whole, excited about the prospect of more people having more rights as citizens. ACLU lawyers are currently digging through more than 800 pages of the proposed bill armed with their civil liberties expertise. The Washington post gave their overview here. Other media can be read here, here, and here.
 
CISPA
The House passed an overreaching "cyber security" bill on Thursday known as CISPA.  CISPA could compromise your electronic privacy by allowing companies to share private information (for a full breakdown of what it says and what it should say, visit our resource CISPA Explained). Fortunately, the president shares some of our concerns and has threatened to veto the bill. Read a New York Times technology article on CISPA here.

Forced Blood Tests at the Side of the Road:
The Supreme Court ruled in Missouri v. McNeely that the warrantless blood test of a man suspected of drunk driving was an unconstitutional search. ACLU legal director Steve Shapiro, who argued the case in the Court, was quoted here saying, “Today’s decision appropriately recognizes what half the states have already demonstrated -- that maintaining highway safety does not require sacrificing personal privacy”

ACLU Sues Flower Shop for Discrimination
The ACLU affiliate in Washington state filed a lawsuit on behalf of a gay couple denied service at a flower shop for their upcoming wedding. Read more in this news story.
 
Texas Execution
Texas executed its third death row inmate this year, the eight execution in the country this year. Read more here.