Diversionary program. It’s a technical term for something portrayed in old movies: a parent arrives at a police station to pick up their child who, instead of being arrested and charged with a crime, has just been given a stern warning by police and an opportunity to make amends.
At no time in the ACLU’s nearly 100-year history has the struggle for our liberties seemed more daunting. But we’ve never been cowed by new threats to our rights, and we won’t begin now.