On November 13, 2001, the Constitution Project launched its Liberty and Security Committee in response to the tragic events of September 11 and their aftermath. In a climate of increased fear about national security, we were alarmed both by government proposals that jeopardized civil liberties and by public opinion polls showing a lack of opposition to such proposals. We saw the need for a meaningful, informed, and bipartisan discussion of these issues in conjunction with public education addressed at policymakers, the media, and the public. Committee members "believe that Americans of widely differing political perspectives and experiences can, and must, respect a set of general principles that preserve our individual rights even as we protect our safety."
In recent years, the United States has faced a variety of important questions about how to enhance our security while simultaneously protecting our civil liberties. The Liberty and Security Committee’s work covers a variety of different areas.
The Liberty and Security Committee examines a variety of national security policies that reduce transparency and threaten First Amendment rights. These include efforts by the government to conduct surveillance of religious and political organizations, to use secrecy as a bar to litigation challenging national security programs, and to suppress information about detentions and other actions.
The issue of detentions has been a key area of focus for the Liberty and Security Committee as well. It analyzes legal and policy questions raised by the detention and treatment of immigrants after September 11, including the grounds for the detentions, the legal rights of the detainees, the fair and proper treatment of the detainees, the use of legal and effective interrogation techniques, and the appropriate legal processes for bringing terrorist suspects to justice.
The Committee evaluates a variety of privacy and technology issues raised by post-September 11 security efforts. These include and the use of terrorist watch lists and public video surveillance systems. Finally, the Committee examines immigration law and enforcement to determine if our statutes and our practices comply with the constitutional protections that apply to citizens and non-citizens alike. This includes the use and abuse of immigration law as a counter-terrorism tool, and ensuring that immigration enforcement is effective and constitutional.
