ACLU Statement on the 23rd Commemoration of 9/11

WASHINGTON — In commemoration of the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, issued the following statement:

“The ACLU commemorates the victims, their families, and all of those impacted by the tragic attacks on September 11th, 2001. We also pay particular tribute to John Perry who died in the World Trade Center and who served on the New York Civil Liberties Union board of directors.

“We’ve learned a lot in 23 years about the harmful long-term consequences of our government’s decision to respond by sacrificing civil liberties and human rights in the name of national security. While unchecked executive power remains hard to claw back, our true strength lies in democratic participation and accountability through the vitality of civil society, an independent judiciary, and principled and meaningful congressional oversight.

“Together, we resisted many of the post-9/11 abuses, and thanks to the persistent leadership and work of impacted communities, independent media, and rights advocates, some of the worst injustices — like systemic torture — came to light and ended. But too much of that destructive legal and policy infrastructure remains today, with communities of color, immigrants, and people who dissent against the government bearing the brunt of the harm. We can’t keep investing in rights-violating policies like indefinite detention and unfair trials at Guantánamo Bay, discriminatory profiling, secretive and unjustified surveillance, or unfair watchlisting. Enough is enough.

“To chart a new course and guard against increasing attempts to deploy ‘national security’ as a cover for prejudice and executive overreach, we must ground security for everyone in rights and civil liberties, equality, dignity, and accountability. No exceptions.”