Michael Chertoff, nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security and the force behind the unprovoked detention of hundreds of Arab, South Asian and Muslim men after 9/11, showed no regrets for that roundup during his Senate confirmation hearing. He also acknowledged he was consulted on the development and implementation of a notorious Justice Department torture memo.

In the days after the terrorist attacks, hundreds of Arab, South Asian and Muslim men were detained using minor immigration violations that would not normally warrant detention, a racial and religious profiling policy that was developed and carried out by Chertoff.

As a matter of policy, the ACLU neither opposes nor endorses cabinet-level appointments. It does examine and publicize nominees' civil liberties records, as it has done with Chertoff and recently confirmed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The ACLU's memorandum on Chertoff's civil liberties record can be found here:
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?orgid=n&ID=17378&c=206&MX=1884&H=1

Take Action! As with Attorney General Gonzales, the unanswered questions swirling around Chertoff need to be addressed if the Senate is to properly exercise its "advise and consent" authority. Urge your Senators to ask the tough questions:
http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?orgid=n&ID=17384&c&MX=1884&H=1