SAALT Spot Blog

Oak Creek: Personal reflections 6 months later

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August 5, 2012 will always stand out as a day that shaped my work, my goals, and where I wanted to see my community in the future.  Growing up in a post-9/11 world, I saw community members suffering terrible hate crimes, witnessed my brother and father constantly getting an extra screening at TSA, and experienced a general, alienating message from American society that I was perceived as different. This sense of “otherness”had a major impact on the interests I wanted to pursue moving forward.

Caring so deeply about the Sikh community and backlash we and other Arab American, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian individuals and families experienced after 9/11 propelled me towards a career path where I could advocate and speak on behalf of not only the Sikh community but other minorities in this nation that have been the targets of bias and discrimination.  This drive brought me to South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT). For me, this was a great way to finally put all that pain and frustration from 9/11 into actual work on behalf of a shared community.  But less than a month into my work at SAALT, the tragedy in Oak Creek took place.  The motivation and determination that resulted from the frustrations faced after 9/11 became even more solidified.  The continuing issues and needs further highlighted by Oak Creek—hate crimes, discrimination, xenophobic rhetoric in public discourse–lent even more shape to my career path and gave me higher goals of where I would like to see my community 10 years from now.

As a Sikh woman working at SAALT and a volunteer Advocate for The Sikh Coalition, I was very involved with the response efforts to the tragedy on August 5, 2012.  On February 26, 2013 at DC’s SAALT Circle a group of young professionals and leaders in the community came together for a discussion titled “Revisiting Oak Creek: Where Are We Now?”  This dialogue explored many thoughts on how we as a South Asian community responded to the attack; how SAALT, The Sikh Coalition, and Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) responded in the wake of the attack, including community crisis support, policy advocacy with key officials and government agencies, and media messaging; and next steps we can all take to prevent another tragedy.  Many participants voiced their pain and initial reaction to the attack.  But one thing that seemed to resonate with everyone in the room was concern.  There was concern on how to prevent this from happening again, concern about the response the government had to the attack, and concern about how, as a community, we are moving forward.  That concern that everyone was feeling in the room last night was the same concern I felt 11 years ago after 9/11 and 6 months ago on August 5th.

This concern is not only felt by the select few who work at these organizations or who came to the SAALT Circle last night, it is felt by everyone who was affected by this horrific tragedy.  However , I believe, the most important thing to do with a concern is to act on it.  My concerns led me to a place where I can advocate and elevate the voices of South Asians.  Everyone can lend a hand in this battle and take action.  We should all voice our concern, but, as a community we are all responsible to act as well. We can all be agents of change whether it is sending a message to your congressman asking that hate crimes against Sikhs, Hindus and Arabs are added to the tracking form, being an effective spokesperson in the media on behalf of your community, or joining hands with our communities as supportive allies.  Post-9/11 discrimination and the Oak Creek tragedy brought our community together in pain and concern.  Let’s make sure we still stay together by voicing and acting on our concerns for each other, across race and ethnicity, across religion, and across all walks of life.

Manpreet Kaur Teji
Program Associate, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
Volunteer Advocate, The Sikh Coalition

Everything is Bigger in Texas: Sonia Kotecha

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SAALT Executive Director, Deepa Iyer, traveled to Austin, Texas in January to engage with the local Asian American community. She participated in events such as a Brown Bag discussion at the University of Texas at Austin, a Republic Day event sponsored by the Indian American Coalition of Texas, and a community roundtable discussion.

Below is a blog post by Sonia Kotecha, SAALT member and Austin-based community leader, reflecting on the community roundtable.

We like to say everything is bigger in Texas including the growing Asian American population. In Austin, the capital of Texas, the Asian American community makes up around 6% of the general population with South Asians making up one the largest Asian subgroups. City of Austin demographer, Ryan Robinson, predicts that by 2015, the Asian population in Austin will surpass the African American population becoming the second largest minority group after Hispanics. In the spring of 2013, the City of Austin will open the first ever Asian American Resource Center. As our community grows and diversifies so does our need to mobilize, unite and build solidarity. So last weekend we called upon SAALT (South Asian Americans Leading Together) to facilitate an initial conversation through a community roundtable on how best to utilize our existing resources and the resources of SAALT to elevate our voices and empower us to more effectively engage in our local community.

Although many of us in the community see each other on a regular basis and collaborate on programming from time to time, the roundtable was an opportunity for us to step back and reflect on the strengths and needs of our community. It was helpful to have SAALT’s Executive Director, Deepa Iyer, serve as our facilitator – as an outsider looking in. Over 25 people representing various segments and sectors of the Austin community attended the roundtable.

Through the process of identifying our community assets, issues and gaps, I was impressed at how far advanced we were in having established networks and an infrastructure of strong cultural, social and political organizations. The list of community assets in the room far exceeded the list of issues and gaps that were addressed. Needless to say, we all agreed that there are many in our community who are disenfranchised and their voices often go unheard.

We identified several opportunities to improve our outreach and engage those we defined as ‘invisible’ segments of our Asian community (i.e. seniors, refugees, low-income gas station/convenient store clerks). Several strategies included conducting a workshop using existing SAALT material on “Knowing Your Rights & Responsibilities” for new immigrants and refugees in places of worship, hosting “Asian Community 101” information sessions for city/county government agencies including law enforcement, and developing a political leadership education program to encourage more civic participation of Asian Americans in city/county government.

The ideas that came out of our roundtable were concrete and attainable. SAALT has the resources and training materials and the individuals and organizations represented at the roundtable have the connections and capacity to execute. It is my hope that we continue to build on the synergy from the roundtable and continue to meet quarterly. My biggest take away from the event was pride in Austin’s Asian American community. Given our existing foundation, we can only go bigger – Texas size – in our pursuit to cultivate a more inclusive and just society.

One Step Forward: The Family Unity Rule

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Last week, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published their much-anticipated “family unity rule” — “Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver of Inadmissibility for Certain Immediate Relatives” — which will go into effect on March 4, 2013. While the rule has its limitations, it is a giant step forward for South Asian families and will help keep them many of them together for longer periods of time.

Previously, immigrants who entered the country “without inspection” by immigration authorities had to return to their countries of origin before pursuing an immigrant visa and unlawful presence waiver. This process can result in individuals waiting years to be reunited with their families. However, under the new USCIS rule, the time apart for many families will be greatly reduced. After March 4, 2013, many individuals, including those in the South Asian community, will be able to file and have their unlawful presence waivers provisionally approved before they have to leave the country. Once a waiver is provisionally approved, the individual will have to leave the U.S. and attend his or her visa interview abroad, but this change eliminates the months, and sometimes even years, that individuals previously had to wait outside the U.S. for adjudication of their waiver.

It is still important to remember the limitations of the new rule.  First, it only applies to immediate relatives (spouses, children, and parents) of U.S. citizens.  This restriction is important to note because many advocates had argued for the rule to apply to a broader population.  Second, applicants must still prove that their U.S. citizen, immediate family member would suffer extreme hardship if the applicant was denied admission.  While this is no different from the previous requirement, it’s important to remember.  Third, the waiver only applies to unlawful presence, not other grounds of inadmissibility.   As with any rule, there are other limitations, some of which can be found in various articles online.

Despite the narrow scope of this rule, it is an important step forward in the movement towards keeping families together.  It will keep some families united for significantly more time than before, and that’s a big win for however many it impacts.  These are the successes that we must remember as we fight for comprehensive immigration reform in the upcoming months, one step at a time.

DJ Rekha @ the Black Cat

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On Friday night, myself and other SAALT staff members attended DJ Rekha’s show at the Black Cat.  First off, I have to say: What an amazing show!! I have always been a fan of DJ Rekha’s beats, but seeing her live was fantastic.  I also want to thank Rekha and the Black Cat for letting SAALT table at the show.  It was refreshing to see many familiar faces and to know that so many Desis in D.C. already know about SAALT’s work.  I am a fan of Rekha, not only because she is a talented artist, but because she uses her music as a tool for social change.  While it is inspiring to see artists like Rekha getting involved in the South Asian movement, you don’t have to be a DJ to work for change for your community.  Volunteer for Be the Change, organize an event in your local community, or if you haven’t already, become a member of SAALT.  Thanks again to DJ Rekha for her continued support of SAALT and involvement in our work!

Anjali Chaudhry is the Maryland Outreach Coordinator for SAALT.  To learn more about SAALT’s Maryland Community Empowerment Project and ways you can get involved, email anjali@saalt.org.

Aaditi Dubale, SAALT Fellow (left) and myself (right) tabling at the Black Cat.

287(g) and Morristown, New Jersey

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A dispatch from SAALT’s New Jersey Outreach Coordinator, Qudsia Raja, on state and local enforcement of immigration laws and what it means in NJ.

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As advocates and communities nationwide mobilize to campaign for more just and humane immigration laws in the US, New Jersey residents prepare to cope with the actualization of tentatively discriminatory mandates that will, if put into place, adversely affect the immigrant community in the state. 287(g), a federal immigration program initiated by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), allows for local law enforcement agencies to go beyond their call of duty of enforcing local and state laws by additionally allowing them the liberty to enforce federal immigration laws.

Earlier this year, several counties in New Jersey, including Morris, Hudson, and Monmouth Counties, applied to become a part of the 287(g) program. Morristown was approved for the program last month, and Mayor David Cresitello has every intention of signing onto the program, which would be in effect for 3 years.

The idea of deputizing local law enforcement agencies has long been controversial, with strong advocates on both ends of the debate holding firm to their beliefs on whether the program should or should not be put into place. SAALT, like many other immigrant advocates locally and nationwide, believes that 287(g) does in fact negatively impact the immigrant community at large. By deputizing law enforcement, we would essentially be creating a barrier between law enforcement and the communities they are sworn in to serve – an irony so obvious that I can’t seem to understand why some public officials are so adamant about putting the mandate into place.

Consider this. New Jersey is not only home to a large, diverse, and emerging immigrant community, but also thrives economically because of the contributions of this very community, according to a report published earlier this year by Rutgers University. As an emerging community, however, coming from numerous cultural, linguistic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, it’s important for us as public officials, advocates, service providers and community members to be mindful of the needs of our fellow community members. These needs could range from being aware of cultural and linguistic needs in accessing basic government and public services; navigation the school, medical, and legal systems; and addressing racial and religious discrimination targeted towards immigrant communities, often more vulnerable when they are unable to communicate because they are limited-English proficient (LEP), or because they are unaware of the proper channels available to them to report incidences and crimes of the sort. Additionally, many immigrants migrate from countries where the rule of law is often corrupt, making them fearful of approaching (or being approached by) law enforcement.

287(g) has been criticized by immigrant advocates for many justified reasons, one of the most disconcerting being that the mandate would allow for local law enforcement to essentially profile immigrant constituents in the process of making arrests based on ‘suspicion’. It will detract from their job of keeping the peace in local communities and protecting constituents by creating a sense of fear amongst the immigrant community of being rounded up by the police based on the color or their skin, or the accents in speech.

Recently, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram issued a strongly worded letter to Hudson, Morris, and Monmouth County officials warning them to not use 287(g) as a mechanism to racially profile constituents. Additionally, she made clear that the mandate does not allow for sweeps or ‘on-the-street-encounters’, where law enforcement uses round ups as a means to conduct immigration checks, and that any incidences of violating NJ laws will be dealt with by the AG’s office.

All that aside, though, what does it really mean to be an immigrant in New Jersey, where 287(g) may tentatively be put into place?

Imagine this. You are an immigrant mother of two. You speak limited English, and rely on your husband to deal with the intricacies of life outside of your home. You have been in this country for many years, and your children are enrolled in the local school system. Your husband sponsored you to migrate to this country when you first married. You find yourself in an abusive relationship, and consider reaching out to the police to intervene. However, your husband tells you that reporting him to the police will result in your deportation, that they’ll take away her children and she’ll never see them again. So, you weigh out the pros and cons, and somehow justify staying in a violent marriage for the sake of your children, and for the fear of being deported back to your country of origin, where you may face even more violence for leaving your husband. Somehow, the thought of daily violence isn’t as bad as the thought of approaching the police, the threat of deportation and separation from your children looming overhead.

Imagine this. You are a second-generation immigrant. You are Muslim, with a very common first and last name. You are driving late at night on your way home, and you are pulled over because you are speeding. Along with your license and your registration, you are asked for your immigration papers – something you don’t carry around with you, because you are a legal resident and you tell them this much. You are asked to come to the station. You grudgingly comply, thinking of it as an inconvenience, but that you will be out as soon as they run your name through the system. Your name, a common one, shows up with some alarming news attached to it. You tell them it’s a mistake, and that you are in fact not that individual. You are detained for several hours, perhaps days, as they sort out the situation and realize that you are in fact not who they think you are. In the meantime, you are not allowed to make a call to family members or a lawyer, and no one knows of your whereabouts. You are told that this is normal procedure – a criminal until proven innocent. You are let out eventually, but with a bitter taste in your mouth in regards to local law enforcement. You know you will think twice about approaching them should a problem arise in the future, if only to avoid the painful and humiliating process they have just subject you to.

Imagine hundreds of other scenarios that immigrant constituents will face should 287(g) go into affect. Imagine being racially profiled and being treated like a criminal. Imagine being fearful of the police when you need them most, when you are placed in a dangerous situation, but the fear (be it real or imagined) of being deported holds you back from calling for help.

Is this the sort of community you want to be a part of?

9/11 Eight Years Later: A Message from South Asian Organizations

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NCSO sepia
9/11 Eight Years Later:  A Message From South Asian Organizations
This statement is issued by the following members of the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations.

Today, members of the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations (NCSO) join the country in marking the  eighth anniversary of the tragedies of September 11th, 2001. We solemnly remember and honor those who lost their lives or loved ones that day.

Like everyone in America, South Asians in the United States were deeply affected by the events on and after September 11th. From the days and months after the tragedy to now, our organizations have addressed a range of issues in our communities related to the post-September 11th environment – from helping individuals who lost family members or their livelihoods to advocating on behalf of those who faced discrimination, hate crimes, profiling, and arbitrary detentions and interrogations.

Although it has been eight years since 9/11, many of the policies implemented in its aftermath continue to affect South Asians, such as special registration, border and airport profiling, and arbitrary detentions and deportations.

Today, we encourage all South Asians to honor the memory of September 11th through reflection, service, and a renewed commitment to preserve justice and equality for all.

For more information about the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations, please visit the NCSO webpage here or contact saalt@saalt.org or 301.270.1855.

Additional Resources and Information:

Dispatch from New Jersey: Town Hall and Legislative Visits!

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In an effort to get the local South Asian community engaged around immigration reform, SAALT-NJ, along with community partners, held a  ‘Town Hall for South Asians on Immigration & Civil Rights’ in Jersey City on July 27th at the Five Corners Library.   The event, part of the One Community United campaign, was the second in a series of community forums that will be held nationwide as a part of the campaign.

The town hall brought together not only a diverse group of folks within the community, but also a diverse coalition of local community partners, including: American Friends Service Committee, Andolan, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), Govinda Sanskar Temple, Manavi, New Jersey Immigrant Policy Network, and the Sikh Coalition.

Although the focus of the discussion at large was around immigration reform, the conversation covered a variety of issues, such as the effects of visa limitations and backlogs on low-income workers and women facing violence in the home; and detention centers and the growing number of detained immigrants. The conversation was at once challenging and emotional, as participants shared personal stories illustrating how immigration laws have negatively impacted their lives and the lives of their loved ones.   Nevertheless, the conversation ended on a positive note with ways to stay involved with the campaign, and to get more civically engaged around the immigration reform conversation.

In fact, on August 19th, SAALT members, along with coalition members from NJIPN and New Labor, conducted an in-district meeting with Representative Donald Payne’s office in Newark, New Jersey.  Participants met with a senior staff member at the Representative’s office to discuss issues around immigration and healthcare reform.

The delegation highlighted key concerns to both the South Asian community and the immigrant community at large, such as (1) the increase in detention and deportations post 9-11 and its impact on immigrant families in the US; (2) family- and employment-based visa backlogs and the need for just and humane immigration reform to prevent families from being torn apart in the process; and  (3) more concrete measures in place for immigrant integration to address issues such as linguistic and cultural barriers in accessing services, and, as a result, becoming active and participating members of the community.

The meeting was a great experience – it illustrated to the members present the significance of civic engagement, and how important it is to reach out to our respective representatives about issues concerning us. In a political and economic climate that seems so anti-immigrant, it was certainly refreshing to be able to sit down with the Representative’s office to actively advocate for issues that deeply impact the immigrant community.  I look forward to meeting with other local offices in the coming month and encourage others to try to schedule meetings with your respective Representatives while they are home for August recess.

To learn more about SAALT-NJ’s work, please email qudsia@saalt.org

Looking for ways to get involved? Here are some ideas:

• Call your member of Congress to express your support for immigration reform and strong civil rights policies. Find out who your member of Congress is by visiting www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

• The Campaign to Reform Immigration for America has launched a text messaging campaign that sends alerts to participants when a call to action, such as calling your Congressman/woman, is urgently needed. To receive text message alerts, simply text ‘justice’ to 69866.

• Stay in touch with local and national organizations that work with the South Asian community.

• Share your immigration or civil rights story with SAALT by filling out this form or sending an email to saalt@saalt.org.

Sci-Fi Age of E-Verify

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I recently attended a session at the Migrant Policy Institute that focused on E-Verify, the system that would require employees to verify their identities and legal status through an electronic program. The Migrant Policy Institute discussion focused on possible ways to expand this system and perhaps better it for everyone involved. The only people who don’t seem to benefit from the expansion of E-Verify are the employees. They would have to jump through additional hoops to maintain or obtain employment.

I was more than a little surprised by the types of solutions offered by MPI to improve E-Verify, as they seemed very invasive and expensive, not to mention Big Brotherish. Possible solutions included biometric cards and registering for a personalized PIN that would be provided to employers who could then access a database that verified identities.

While MPI said it was trying to address issues of identity fraud in order to protect employees, I really don’t think that the workers’ interests are at the heart of these proposals or the E-Verify system. Another concern is how E-Verify might be used to check the statuses of current established employees as well as new-hires, which would require people settled in their employment to go over the same hurdles as a new-hire. There must be a better way to regulate employment practices than to strike fear in the hearts of immigrant employees who just want to create a new life for themselves and their families.

Shah Rukh Khan – Bollywood Border Stop

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This piece by Deepa Iyer (SAALT) has also been posted at Race Wire (www.racewire.org)

The Shah Rukh Khan incident at Newark International Airport over the weekend has elicited a range of viewpoints and opinions. Shah Rukh Khan, a famous Bollywood actor, was detained for over an hour, and interrogated by U.S. Customs and Borders Protection (CBP) authorities at Newark International Airport where he had landed. Mr. Khan believes that he was detained and interrogated because of his last name and his religious affiliation. The CBP (a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) claims that officials were following standard protocol.

Mr. Khan’s incident might be gaining international attention because he is a celebrity, but the truth is that ordinary American citizens and immigrants here in the United States grapple with racial and religious profiling routinely at airports. Especially since September 11th, 2001, South Asian, Arab American, Muslim and Sikh travelers have been subjected to arbitrary secondary inspections, detentions, and interrogations while traveling.

Recently, the Asian Law Caucus and the Stanford Law School Immigrant Rights’ Clinic published a report that details incidents of intrusive questioning that many US citizens and legal permanent residents have faced when returning to the United States from trips abroad. The report provides information about the abuse of watchlists and first-hand accounts of profiling, as well as recommendations to safeguard civil rights.

Racial and religious profiling must be eliminated whether it happens on the streets, on our highways, at borders, or at airports. Profiling people based on their last name, skin color, accent, or religious affiliation is an ineffective enforcement technique that violates civil rights protections. In fact, the use of profiling tactics has not been an effective law enforcement strategy in either the War on Drugs or the War on Terror.

The Obama Administration and Congress have an opportunity to review and strengthen current administrative anti-profiling policies, and to pass federal legislation that bans profiling [the End Racial Profiling Act is set to be introduced in Congress again this year]. These are important steps in ensuring that the civil rights of everyone – whether a celebrity or ordinary American – are preserved.

Deepa Iyer is Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national, non-profit organization that addresses civil and immigrant rights issues. Learn more at www.saalt.org.

Getting in Touch with the Netroots (pt.7)

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Final session of Netroots (for me with my flight home this afternoon, everyone else looks to be getting down with the official part-ay tonight by DailyKos), and its about a core issue, immigration reform. It’s great that we have a session about this topic, which is so important to the South Asian community, but I’m a little bummed to see that, while it has a pretty good turnout, its not bursting at the seams. This is the only session I could find that dealt explicitly with immigration reform (there have definitely been others that touched upon it) and I had really hoped that more of the Nation would come out about this.

Anyways, the panel has representatives from Breakthrough, America’s Voice, FIRM and SEIU. Thus far, its been mostly context-setting and talking about what each organization is doing in the area. Nicola from fIRM shared that what got their organization into online organizing was actually storytelling. After the New Bedford raids, they needed a way to get the stories out to people since the media wasn’t paying any attention. Now they’re working to build social networking tools that are more responsive and are able to “go offline.” Joaquin from SEIU showed advocacy efforts SEIU has undertaken to highlight the plight of DREAM Act students facing deportation.

Since this is my final post from Netroots, I’ll bring together some of my observations and thoughts from the weekend. Being here at Netroots and seeing the groundswell of support and resources that exist in the progressive movement is definitely an amazing thing. It can feel, sometimes, that we’re the little guy and we’re outgunned and out-resourced by “the other side” which obviously shifts debate to debate and issue to issue. Its not that Netroots has shown me that we’re drowning in easy, accessible resources. Instead, it showed me how progressives have and continue to fight against entrenched elites using whatever’s available and changing the rules of the game. Its that spirit of “never say die” that I will take back with me. A lot of the people here aren’t necessarily involved and active in the same issues, there is definitely interest and will to work together to make things happen in each others’ areas. Ultimately, we have to use whatever tools are out there to make things like immigration or healthcare reform, strengthening civil rights, fighting racial profiling happen. People all over America are suffering right now and it’s up to us to bring these issues up and bring about progress.