Muslim-Americans file lawsuit against DHS over border treatment News
Muslim-Americans file lawsuit against DHS over border treatment

[JURIST] The Council on American-Islamic Relations [advocacy website], the New York Civil Liberties Union [advocacy website] and the American Civil Liberties Union [advocacy website] filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the Department of Homeland Security [official website], saying DHS unlawfully detained, interrogated, fingerprinted and photographed a group of Muslim-American citizens who were returning from the 2004 Reviving the Islamic Spirit Conference in Canada. According to the complaint [PDF text], the treatment violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to practice religion and against unlawful searches. At the time of the incident, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said that agents were acting on information that Islamic conferences like the one the plaintiffs attended can be a means for terrorists to promote their cause. Read the NYCLU press release on the lawsuit and more from AP.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.