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Homeland Security 5 Year Anniversary 2003 - 2008, One Team, One Mission Securing the Homeland

Homeland Security Components

Investigating and Resolving Complaints, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Main Page » Investigating Complaints

Under 6 U.S.C. 345, the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties reviews and assesses information concerning abuses of civil rights, civil liberties, and profiling on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion, by employees and officials of the Department of Homeland Security. Read 6 U.S.C. 345.

The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties also ensures that all federally-assisted and federally-conducted programs or activities of the Department comply with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended; and related Executive Orders.

Filing a Complaint

If you wish to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, please provide a detailed written description of your complaint. Please be as specific as possible in describing the circumstances surrounding your complaint so that we can determine if you are alleging abuse(s) of civil rights, civil liberties, and/or profiling on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion, by employees and official of the Department of Homeland Security. Also, it is important to provide us your mailing address, telephone number and email address (if available) so that we can contact you concerning your complaint.

The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties reviews and assesses complaints in areas such as:

  • Treatment
  • Abuse of authority/color of law
  • Conditions of detention
  • Discrimination
  • Due process

Some complaints filed with the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties may be forwarded to other Department components, or to other government agencies, such as the Department of Justice, if appropriate. Regardless of how your complaint is resolved, it will be carefully reviewed and resolved in accordance with applicable laws and policies.

This page was last reviewed/modified on October 7, 2008.