SAALT’s approach to justice, in all forms, demands that the roots of the U.S. nation-state are identified in and traced back to the genocide of Native Americans and other Indigenous people, and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. We assert that no analysis of justice in the U.S. is complete without an understanding of history, nor without a commitment to tracing its effect on present events.
Our own South Asian communities in the U.S. trace their lineage back to different parts of this shared history – from Indo-Caribbean siblings, whose ancestors directly experienced the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, to Afghan siblings, who have been the targets of more recent endless wars. Many individudal communities in the larger diaspora faced varying forms of interpersonal and state violence – but since September 11th, the entire diaspora has been bound together by a culture of racialized and xenophobic Islamophobia.
Since 2001, South Asians, Muslims, Sikhs, and South West Asians have increasingly faced government scrutiny, surveillance, and harassment based on their perceived race, national origin, and religion. Many community members remember this form of state harm most clearly in the forms of being singled out for extensive searches when boarding a plane, experiencing FBI background check delays with immigration applications, facing increased harassment for religious attire, and being the targets of multi-level surveillance of Muslim communities. This state-sanctioned form of discrimination permeates interpersonal relationships, and as shown with our research from 2016, often abets cultures of hate violence to dominate social circles.
Our community is not alone in our experiences of state violence – every community of color in the U.S. has been the target of discriminatory practices that target individuals based on their perceived race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin.
Though this form of state harm relies on homogenizing our diverse community, it also continues to reveal intersections of privilege, ability, and access within our diaspora. For example, certain male nationals from predominantly Muslim and Arab countries, including Bangladesh and Pakistan, were required to register with the Department of Justice through a program known as “special registration” in the wake of 9/11. As a result of this initiative, nearly 14,000 men were placed in detention and deportation proceedings, primarily for minor immigration violations. This same country-specific targeting was mirrored in the Muslim and African Bans.
Additionally, the use of local and state law police to enforce immigration laws through programs, like 287(g) and Secure Communities, further promote profiling and undermine community relations by instilling fear and mistrust. Likewise, state laws allowing or mandating local law enforcement to check the immigration status of individuals they choose to stop also promote the perception of communities of color as suspicious or “un-American.”
SAALT works to increase awareness within the community and the government about the discriminatory and ineffective nature of profiling. Alongside organizations led by and with Muslims and those racialized as Muslim, SAALT continues to call upon members of Congress, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors to end policies and practices that have the intent or impact of profiling.
SAALT RESOURCES ON RACIAL JUSTICE
- SAALT Issue Brief on 2014 Department of Justice Guidance for Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Regarding the Use of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, National Origin, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Or Gender Identity (April 2015)
- South Asian Organizations Call for an End to Surveillance and Profiling (July 2014)
- Over 120 Organizations Request DOJ Investigation of NYPD Surveillance Practices (October 2013)
- Over 120 Organizations Request DOJ Investigation of NYPD Surveillance Practices (October 2013)
- SAALT Statement for the 9/11 Briefing on Engagement with Arab and Muslim American Communities (December 2012)
- In Our Own Words: Narratives of South Asian New Yorkers Affected by Racial and Religious Profiling (March 2012)
- Joint Organizational Letter to DHS Secretary Napolitano regarding NSEERS (June 2012)
- Joint Organizational Statement on DHS NSEERS Memo (May 2012)
- SAALT Statement for the Record for Sentate Hearing on Racial Profiling (April 2012)
- Organizational Letter in Support of the End Racial Profiling Act to the House and Senate (April 2012)
- SAALT Statement in Support of Takoma Park, MD Resolution Opposing Indefinite Detention Provisions in NDAA (April 2012)
- Factsheet on the End Racial Profiling Act (January 2012)
- Letter from Asian American and Pacific Islander Organizations Urging Veto of NDAA (December 2011)
- Joint Organizational Letter Expressing Concerns Regarding Congressman Peter King’s House Hearing on Radicalization and the Muslim Community ( February 2011)
- Discrimination Undeterred: Xenophobic Rhetoric, Profiling, and Discrimination Affecting South Asians, Muslim, and Sikh Communities in the United States — Article in Satyam: The Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Journal on South Asia and the Law
- SAALT Testimony to House Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties on Profiling and the South Asian Community ( June 2010)
- SAALT Issue Briefs on the Impact of Racial and Religious Profiling on the South Asian Community: Surveillance, Travel and Immigration (March 2010)
- Profiling and Its Impact on the South Asian Community (2009)
OTHER RESOURCES ON PROFILING
- Civil Rights Groups Ask Administration to Explain NSA Surveillance of American Muslims (July 2014)
- Letter from Advocacy Organizations Demanding Modifications to DOJ Guidance (Resubmitted 2014)
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Letter to DHS Secretary Napolitano regarding NSEERS (June 2012)
- Congressional Letter to DOJ regarding Racial Profiling Guidance (April 2012)
- DHS Rule Modifying NSEER Program (2011)
ALLY ORGANIZATIONS
- American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
- American Civil Liberties Union
- Arab American Institute
- Asian Law Caucus
- Coney Island Avenue Project
- Council on American-Islamic Relations
- Council of Peoples Organization
- Desis Rising Up and Moving
- Japanese Americans Citizen League
- Leadership Conference Conference on Civil and Human Rights
- Muslim Public Affairs Council
- Muslim Advocates
- Rights Working Group
- Sikh Coalition
- Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
- South Asian Network
- UNITED SIKHS