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January 22, 2010 marked the passing of President Obama's self-declared deadline to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. To take note of the missed deadline, the Constitution Project joined with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Open Society Institute to cosponsor a panel discussion examining what prevented the administration from reaching its goal and what obstacles remain to closing the detention facility. Titled "One Year and Counting: When and How Will Guantanamo Close?," the program featured an array of voices, including current and former government and military officials, a sitting federal judge, a former federal prosecutor in New York City, advocates, and litigators. Photos of the event are available. Video of the program is available below:
In news accounts this morning, it was reported that, on the anniversary marking President Obama’s pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within one year, the administration will pursue a policy of indefinite detention without charge for approximately 50 detainees still held at Guantánamo. The administration had previously acknowledged that it will miss the deadline to close the facility, while continuing its pledge to see the detention facility closed.
Constitution Project Proposes Much-Needed Reforms to Limit Immigration Detention and Improve Access to Counsel (12/02/2009)
Today, the Constitution Project put forth bipartisan recommendations for much-needed reforms to limit the use of immigration detention and improve access to legal representation in immigration proceedings. Titled Recommendations for Reforming our Immigration Detention System and Promoting Access to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings, the report is a product of the Project's Liberty and Security Committee, made up of policy experts from across the political spectrum.
The findings were unveiled at a panel discussion at the National Press Club, which featured Liberty and Security Committee member Asa Hutchinson, former member of Congress (R-AR) and Undersecretary for Border & Transportation Security at the Department of Homeland Security, as well as a former immigration judge and immigration advocates. To see photos and a a summary of the panel discussion, click here.
Prominent Illinois Former Prosecutors and Judge Declare U.S. Prisons Fit to House Guantanamo Detainees (11/30/2009)
The Illinois signatories of Beyond Guantanamo: A Bipartisan Declaration sent an open letter to the Illinois congressional delegation and state public officials today supporting the use of federal and state prisons, including the one at Thomson, Illinois, to house Guantanamo detainees pre-trial and post-conviction.
Statement from Prominent Conservatives on Using U.S. Prisons to Hold Guantanamo Detainees (11/16/2009)
As it moves to close Guantanamo and develop policies for handling terrorism suspects going forward, the government should rely upon our established, traditional system of justice. This includes our system of federal prisons, which have repeatedly proven they can safely hold persons convicted of terrorism offenses. We are confident that the government can preserve national security without resorting to sweeping and radical departures from an American constitutional tradition that has served us effectively for over two centuries.
Today, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will face prosecution in a federal court in New York for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Also announced were plans for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a suspect in the U.S.S. Cole bombing, along with four other detainees, to be tried using military commissions. The Constitution Project welcomes the decision to prosecute in federal courts some detainees suspected of acts of terrorism, while expressing concern about the decision to abandon that system for other detainees in favor of military commissions.
The largest bipartisan group of prominent Americans to propose a plan for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility has backed a single scheme for the disposition of cases of current and future detainees. Former members of Congress, diplomats, federal judges and prosecutors, high-level military and government officials, as well as national security and foreign policy experts, bar leaders, and family members of 9/11 victims today (November 4, 2009) backed a plan for the handling of detainees when the detention facility is closed. Titled "Beyond Guantanamo: A Bipartisan Declaration," the effort is being coordinated by two organizations: the Constitution Project and Human Rights First.
Supplemental Materials Include:
Library
12/23/2009Maples v. Allen, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
12/23/2009
Coalition Letter to Secretary Clinton and Attorney General Holder Regarding ICJ Decision in Avena and Other Mexican Nationals
12/23/2009
Amnesty International USA v. McConnell, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
