It was a scrappy week in Washington last week, as members of the House of Representatives took up votes on key military programs. Like last year, Guant谩namo and the targeted killing program featured prominently.
Though the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House on Friday did no new harm on those hot-button issues, the Senate version includes language that could present one of the biggest challenges yet to ending the unlawful practice of indefinite detention.
Bill Breakdown
The final House bill continues to ban new construction in the United States to house detainees from Guant谩namo and to prohibit the use of funds to transfer detainees to the United States. It also authorized some $69 million in unnecessary spending on a new prison facility, which we wrote about here.
The headliner amendments considered on detention - both failed - are two that we've supported for several years in a row, both offered by Congressman Adam Smith (D-Wash.). One, the "," would have allowed for detainees to be tried in federal courts and cut off all funding for Guant谩namo at the end of 2016. You can read our letter of support for the amendment here.
Another, the , would have banned extrajudicial military detention of people in the United States. Though that detention is unconstitutional, some senators in recent years have actually suggested that it could be a good idea. That's why we supported this amendment (as we have in the past) and will continue to push for its adoption as part of future legislation.
That these bills failed is a disappointment, but it actually could have been worse.
Guant谩namo-related language out of the House has been in past years, prohibiting transfers of detainees to their home countries 鈥� except when the Department of Defense met excessively high procedural hurdles 鈥� and the transfer of any detainees to Yemen. That outright ban didn't make it into the final bill this year.
We saw similar movement forward on drones. we supported, sponsored by Congressmen Paul Broun (R-Ga.) and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), prohibits the military from killing citizens not actively engaged in combat with the United States. Though the Constitution already prohibits such an extrajudicial killing, that did not stop the killing of at least four Americans, including a 16-year-old American boy whom no one has accused of wrongdoing. The amendment would prohibit killings like this.
We also supported another to remove the CIA's authority to conduct drone strikes, consolidating the program under the DoD, which would result in greater oversight and accountability. That amendment was ultimately not voted on, though we'll continue to press the issue as one step to bring the clandestine and lethal program out of the shadows.
What's Next
With no new harmful provisions coming out of the House, we would generally expect to see a good 鈥� or at least much better 鈥� final bill when the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill are hashed out later this year.
But indicate that a Senate committee bill could entrench the very worst of Guant谩namo: indefinite detention without charge or trial. Though final bill text is still forthcoming, it appears that, in the name of closing Guant谩namo, Senate Armed Services Committee members 鈥� the drafters of the initial bill on the Senate side 鈥� would allow transfers of some detainees from Guant谩namo to the United States for continued indefinite detention.
That's no fix.
Transfers home for those who have already been cleared for release 鈥� and prosecutions for those detainees against whom there is evidence untainted by torture 鈥� should be urged as part of any legislation seeking to close Guant谩namo. But transferring detainees to the United States for indefinite detention would only perpetuate and spread the wrongs we need to end.
An additional cause of concern is that the Senate committee could include its own Yemen transfer ban in its preliminary draft bill. This would be unprecedented for the upper house. Of the 77 detainees currently held at Guant谩namo that have for years been cleared for release, a full 57 are from Yemen. Such a ban would not only present a profound injustice for these men, who have never been charged with a crime, but would necessarily obstruct efforts to shrink the population at Guant谩namo Bay and ultimately close the facility.
For now, we can breathe a sigh of relief for a relatively reasonable House bill. But we have a lot of work to do in the Senate.
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
Free Speech
National Security
老澳门开奖结果 and Partners Urge Supreme Court to Block TikTok Ban老澳门开奖结果 and Partners Urge Supreme Court to Block TikTok Ban
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
National Security
Religious Liberty
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VirginiaDec 2024
National Security
Trabelsi v. Crawford, et al. 鈥� Lawsuit Challenging Unlawful Detention and Inhumane Treatment of Acquitted ManTrabelsi v. Crawford, et al. 鈥� Lawsuit Challenging Unlawful Detention and Inhumane Treatment of Acquitted Man
Our client, Nizar Trabelsi, is in the United States against his will. The federal government brought him here from Belgium more than a decade ago and charged him with terrorism-related crimes. At trial, the government鈥檚 case failed: a federal jury found Mr. Trabelsi not guilty. But instead of allowing Mr. Trabelsi to return to Belgium after his acquittal, the United States placed him in highly restrictive immigration detention and began an ongoing effort to force him to Tunisia, where he was born and where he will very likely be tortured. Mr. Trabelsi鈥檚 detention violates the Constitution, immigration law, and the extradition treaty between the United States and Belgium. Through this lawsuit, he seeks to return to Belgium, and he demands an immediate improvement of his detention conditions. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
National Security
Immigrants' Rights
Federal Judge Rejects Acquitted Man鈥檚 Argument That His Immigration Detention Is UnlawfulFederal Judge Rejects Acquitted Man鈥檚 Argument That His Immigration Detention Is Unlawful
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