Security Detainees/Enemy Combatants

Since the attacks of September 11, the United States has developed a practice of imprisoning U.S. citizens, as well as citizens of dozens of other countries, outside the regular protections of either U.S. or international law. More than 500 foreign nationals have been held for more than two years at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Others have been held in military prisons in the United States. Still others have been held in legal limbo in prolonged criminal or immigration proceedings. This widespread practice of indefinite detention is unprecedented in U.S. history. And it calls into serious question our nation's promise of fundamental fairness and the rule of law.

This section discusses the cases and the issues at stake.