Broad Coalition of 160+ Faith, Civic & Civil Rights Organizations Call on Senate to Fix Flaws to Profiling Measure in Immigration Bill

Coalition urges for profiling clause to be inclusive of ethnic and religious minorities

As the immigration bill heads to the full Senate for debate, Muslim Advocates and a broad range of over 160 national, state and local faith, civic, and civil rights organizations have sent a letter to each member of the U.S. Senate, urging them to stand up for effective and inclusive legislation by adding a prohibition on profiling based on religion and national origin and eliminating overly broad exceptions for border and national security.

“The current language in the immigration bill is deeply flawed and leaves out critical swaths of innocent Americans who are routinely discriminated against simply because of their ethnicity or religious background,” said Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates. “Not only is this bill an important step forward to repair our nation’s broken immigration system, but it is also a historic opportunity to ensure that federal law enforcement agencies cannot target people and discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.”

The letter contends that the current version of the immigration bill fails to include a prohibition on profiling based on national origin or religion, and creates extremely broad exceptions for national and border security, which would enable discrimination against millions of Americans. Specifically, the letter highlights the African, Arab, Asian, Latino, Muslim, Native, Sikh, and South Asian American communities as common targets by federal law enforcement.

The letter is signed by a broad range of faith, civic and civil rights groups, including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Sikh Coalition, American Civil Liberties Union, SAALT, National Network for Arab American Communities, and the Union for Reform Judaism. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill out of committee on May 22, and the full Senate is expected to begin debate on the bill in June.

 

About Muslim Advocates:

Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization working on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths. Through high impact lawsuits, policy advocacy, and community education, Muslim Advocates serves as a resource to empower communities and ensures that the courts and leaders at the highest level of government address the concerns of American Muslims. Visit Muslim Advocates at www.muslimadvocates.org and follow @muslimadvocates.

 
Media contact:
Fatima Khan
617-216-7089
[email protected]

 

Click here for a full PDF version of the press release