MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT
Sergio Alcubilla, Director of Community Engagement
Cell: 808-371-4805 Email: [email protected]
ACLU of Hawaiʻi Issues Statement Regarding President Trump’s Unauthorized Use of Military Force Against Iran
HONOLULU, HAWAIʻI – As the ACLU of Hawai‘i, we are uniquely positioned at the geographic and strategic crossroads of America’s military ambitions in the Pacific. Hawai‘i is more than a staging ground — it is home to communities that have endured the long shadow of war, from the trauma of Pearl Harbor to the militarization of our lands and waters. Our residents understand, in deeply personal ways, the generational costs of conflict and the urgent need for constitutional restraint. That is why we cannot remain silent as yet another administration—this time under President Trump—continues the use of unauthorized military aggression, this time with Iran, without congressional approval.
In a statement, Salmah Y. Rizvi, Executive Director of the ACLU of Hawaiʻi adds:
When a U.S. President unilaterally initiates hostilities against a sovereign nation, such as Trump did with Iran, it violates Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution which vests the power in Congress to declare war. This not only erodes the separation of powers but it also deprives Americans of a fundamental civil liberty: the right to live in peace, free from wars waged without their consent.
While the ACLU does not take a position on whether or not military force should have been used against Iran, for decades the organization has been steadfast in insisting that decisions on whether to use military force require Congress's specific, advance authorization. Congress has exclusive authority under the Constitution to decide whether the President may use military force.
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