New NDAA Bolsters Guantanamo-style Indefinite Detention for AmericansChris Anders But we now have the bill, and everyone can read it. And everyone should understand what is in this new National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) before the full Senate makes a big mistake and paves the way for Guantnamo-style indefinite detention being brought to the United States itself. The new Senate NDAA: Brings Indefinite Detention to the U.S. Itself: The bill now says that detainees may be brought to the United States for detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). In plain English, that means the policy of indefinite detention by the military, without charge or trial, could be carried out here at home. Right now, the number of people in the U.S. in military indefinite detention is zero. If the bill is enacted, that number could immediately jump to 100 or more. Bolsters Claims of NDAA and AUMF Indefinite Detention Authority: The AUMF is the basis for the indefinite detention authority included in the NDAA that Congress passed nearly three years ago. Indefinite detention is wrong today and certainly cannot be sustained past the end of U.S. combat in the Afghan war. But passing a new Senate NDAA that relies on detention authority based on the AUMF, just as the U.S. combat role in the war is winding down, could be used by the government to bolster its claim that indefinite detention can just keep on going. Even when any actual U.S. combat is over. Tries to Strip Federal Courts of Ability to Decide Challenges to Harmful Conditions: In a stunning provision, the Senate NDAA tries to strip federal courts of their ability to hear or consider any challenge related to harmful treatment or conditions by detainees brought to the United States. This provision tries to gut our system of checks and balances by cutting out the courts. Violates Supreme Court Decision by Stripping Habeas Rights from Detainees Left at Guantnamo: In a classic example of why it is never a good idea for a committee to legislate behind closed doors, the Senate NDAA includes language inadvertently stripping habeas rights from any Guantnamo detainee who is not moved to the United States. Habeas is the very fundamental protection of being able to have a judge decide whether it is legal or illegal to hold someone in prison. While this is almost certainly the product of sloppy drafting, the result squarely contradicts the Supreme Courts decision in Boumediene v. Bush, in which the Court said Guantanamo detainees have a constitutional right to habeas. Blocks Most Cleared Detainees from Going Home: The Senate NDAA would block the transfer home of the vast majority of cleared detainees by imposing a blanket ban on transfers to Yemen, instead of continuing to allow the secretary of defense to make decisions on an individual basis. That would mean dozens of detainees cleared for transfer would remain trapped in limbo. There is a right way and a wrong way to close Guantnamo. Charging and trying in court anyone who committed a crime and sending anyone who isnt charged with a crime back home or to another country is the right way to close Guantnamo. Simply moving all of the bad Guantnamo policies to the U.S. itself is the wrong way. The Senate NDAA gets it very wrong. We urge all senators to say NO to these provisions. Chris Andersis aSenior Legislative Counsel for ACLU Washington Legislative Office where this article first appeared. Learn more about closing Guantnamo and other civil liberty issues: Sign up for breaking news alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. 