9/11: September 11 Congressional Resolution introduced acknowledging gov't role in targetting South Asians, Muslims, Sikhs

From top left, clockwise: Representatives Judy Chu, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Pramila Jayapal.

A Congressional resolution was introduce acknowledging that in the aftermath of terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, individuals experienced hate and were targeted by the government on account of their faith, race, national origin and immigration status, and suggesting various forms of relief for those individuals.

U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal, WA-07, Ilhan Omar, MN-05, Rashida Tlaib, MI-13, and Judy Chu, CA-27, introduced Thursday a Congressional Resolution acknowledging the hate, discrimination, racism, and xenophobia that Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sikh communities across America continue to experience two decades after the 9/11.

“We must fully condemn all manifestations and expressions of racism, xenophobia, discrimination, scapegoating, and ethnic or religious bigotry while also finally acknowledging the climate of hate that Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sikh communities have experienced in the two decades since September 11, 2001,” said the Congresswomen. 

“As we acknowledge that our own government implemented harmful policies that unfairly profiled and targeted Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sikh communities, we must also celebrate that these very communities have met these challenges with unwavering courage, strength, compassion, and resilience while uniting in the aftermath to advocate for civil and human rights — work which continues to this day to benefit all Americans.”

“Twenty years ago, our Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian communities experienced the acute pain of racist hate violence fueled by our country’s deeply entrenched polices of imperialism, surveillance, and racial profiling,” said Lakshmi Sridaran, the Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT). “We are hopeful that this resolution will center the accountability of Members of Congress to rescind the policies of the War on Terror and truly ensure the safety of all communities of color.”

The resolution also puts forward a series of recommendations to support those affected by the profiling and targeting that has occurred during the 20 years since the Sept. 11 attack. This includes:

• Creating an interagency task force to work with community-based organizations to review these government policies, investigate and document their impact, and dismantle those policies which continue to profile and unfairly target these communities.

• Holding hearings by congressional and civil rights bodies to explore the findings and recommendations of this interagency task force in consultation with and centering community-based organizations.

• Allocating resources to community-based organizations outside and independent of law enforcement that center the experiences and demands of Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sikh communities to support the needs of victims of hate and state violence, including language support, mental health, comprehensive support, system navigation, and crisis response and recovery

• Calling on the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the National Institute of Health, and the National Science Foundation to work together to study the impact of hate, government targeting, and profiling on physical and mental health.

Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sikh communities have long experienced discrimination and violence in the U.S., which intensified after the attacks. During the first week after the attack, community organizations documented 645 incidents of bias and hate against Americans perceived to be of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent. This climate of hate also led to bullying and violence in their everyday lives, in their workplaces, businesses, community centers and houses of worship.

The government also targeted Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Sikh communities with overreaching policing, surveillance, and criminalization policies that resulted in wrongful interrogation, coercion, detention, deportation, arrest, and incarceration. 

Principles like due process, presumption of innocence, and evidence of wrongdoing were replaced with humiliation, mob mentality, and guilt by association, contends the lawmakers. Border officials and government authorities also cast aside constitutional rights and engaged in discriminatory searches and seizures. 

Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and immigration authorities arrested and detained as many as 1,200 Muslims immediately after the September 11 attack, and none of these “special interest” detained people were ultimately indicted for terrorist activity. This hate and government targeting impacted the ability of these communities to exercise their constitutionally protected rights including to organize, speak, travel, and worship freely.

Among the host of local, state, and national organizations endorsing the resolution, are:

 American Friends Service Committee; American Immigration Lawyers Association; American Muslim Empowerment Network (AMEN); Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF); Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF); Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders for Justice San Antonio, TX; Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus; Asian Law Alliance; Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO; Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote); Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Florida; Defending Rights & Dissent; DRUM – Desis Rising Up & Moving; Empowering Pacific Islander Communities; Ensaaf; Grassroots Asians Rising; Immigration Hub; International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP); Japanese American Citizens League; Muslim Advocates; Muslim Justice League; National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association; National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF); National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development; National Council of Asian Pacific Americans; National Japanese American Memorial Foundation; National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA); North Carolina Asian Americans Together; Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Sikh Coalition; and the South Asian Americans Leading Together.

“This resolution is a good step in acknowledging the serious and detrimental mistakes made as a nation in the aftermath of 9/11,” said Abed Ayoub, the National Legal & Policy Director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). “Hate crimes and discrimination faced by Arab, Muslims, and South Asians continue to this very day, and we need to work collectively to push back against the hate. 

"Additionally, for two decades the expansion of government surveillance and overreach under the guise of national security has gone almost completely unchecked; targeting primarily Arab, Muslim, and South Asian communities. It is time Congress reins in the post 9/11 surveillance programs and restores our rights and liberties."

“While we reflect on the pervasive hate and Islamophobia that has only deepened over the last 20 years, we must acknowledge the ways our own government has fueled harmful stereotypes and actively and systematically targeted Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Sikh communities,” said Hammad Alam, the Staff Attorney & Program Manager at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus. 

“This resolution is a critical step in acknowledging the government targeting of our communities which predates 9/11 but exponentially grew afterwards. As we witness the devastating impacts of the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq, Congress must support community-based organizations who are leading movements to fundamentally shift the foreign and domestic policies at the root of this violence,” said Fatema Ahmad, the Executive Director of Muslim Justice League. 

A copy of the resolution is available here.

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