This week marks five years since .
After hundreds of detentions and two Supreme Court decisions rejecting the administration's detention policies at Gitmo, the legal status of the detainees there remains unresolved and the fight continues to end unlawful detention and the denial of due process.
In a new Ƶ podcast, Legal Director Steve Shapiro talks about what is at stake in the legal battle over Guantánamo, detention and the Military Commissions Act.
Download or play the MP3 audio file above or, to subscribe to all Ƶ podcasts, paste the address below into your podcasting application:
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Press ReleaseNov 2025
National Security
Immigrants' Rights
Federal Appeals Court Refuses To Block Discriminatory Florida Housing Law That Targets Chinese Immigrants. Explore Press Release.Federal Appeals Court Refuses to Block Discriminatory Florida Housing Law That Targets Chinese Immigrants
MIAMI — The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals today refused to preliminarily block SB 264, a discriminatory housing law in Florida. The law, which bans many immigrants from China and six other countries from purchasing homes in the state, will remain in effect while the case proceeds. The court concluded that none of the plaintiffs had “standing” to challenge SB 264’s restrictions on property purchases. Significantly, however, the court clarified that these restrictions do not apply to certain Chinese immigrants who reside in Florida and intend to remain there indefinitely. Under SB 264, people who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and whose “domicile” is in China, are prohibited from purchasing property in Florida. The sole exception is extremely narrow: Those with non-tourist visas or who have been granted asylum may purchase one residential property under two acres that is not within five miles of any “military installation.” A similar but less restrictive rule also applies to many immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Syria. “All people, regardless of where they come from, should be free to buy homes and build lives in Florida without fear of discrimination,” said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney with the Ƶ’s National Security Project. “Although today’s decision is disappointing, we’ll continue to fight laws like these that blatantly target immigrants based on their national origin and ethnicity.” This pernicious law mirrors repeated efforts over the past century to weaponize false claims of “national security” against Asians and other immigrants. In the early 20th century, politicians used similar justifications to pass “alien land laws,” which barred Chinese and Japanese immigrants from becoming landowners in states across the United States, including Florida. Throughout the country, there has been a resurgence of these alien land laws – further eroding the rights of immigrants under the guise of protecting national security. “SB 264 explicitly discriminates against Chinese immigrants, and it has broader chilling effects on Asian Americans in Florida who simply want to buy a home,” said Clay Zhu, president of CALDA. “We will continue to fight SB 264 and similar ‘alien land laws’ across the country.” “SB 264 is not just unconstitutional—it harkens back to discredited century-old alien land laws that told generations of Asian Americans that this country was not their home,” said Bethany Li, executive director of AALDEF. “But our communities survived those past assaults on our rights, and we remain. We will continue to fight back for the dignity and belonging we deserve.” Although the appeals court refused to preliminarily block the law, today’s decision makes clear that certain Chinese immigrants who live in Florida and intend to remain there indefinitely are “domiciled” in Florida and thus exempt from SB 264’s restrictions on property purchases. The Ƶ, Ƶ of Florida, DeHeng Law Offices PC, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA), and the law firm Quinn Emanuel are representing Chinese immigrants who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida, as well as Multi-Choice Realty, a local real estate firm whose business has been harmed by the law.Court Case: Shen v. SimpsonAffiliate: Florida -
News & CommentaryNov 2025
Privacy & Technology
+2 Issues
Digital Driver’s Licenses Threaten To Create A “great Internet Lockdown”. Explore News & Commentary.Digital Driver’s Licenses Threaten to Create a “Great Internet Lockdown”
Two trends threaten the creation of a bureaucratic wall between Americans and the information they have a right to accessBy: Jay Stanley -
News & CommentaryOct 2025
Privacy & Technology
+2 Issues
Surveillance Supporters Tout Police Audit Logs But They’re Not An Effective Check And Balance. Explore News & Commentary.Surveillance Supporters Tout Police Audit Logs But They’re Not an Effective Check and Balance
If an officer had just left the word "abortion" out of an audit log, a vital national story would never have come to lightBy: Jay Stanley -
PodcastNov 2025
National Security
+2 Issues
Deployments At Our Doorstep. Explore Podcast.Deployments At Our Doorstep
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