Muslim Advocates was founded in the shadow of 9/11 at a time when American Muslims were at the tip of the spear of discriminatory state power.  Nearly twenty years later, on the cusp of a second Trump administration, we are being reminded once again of the urgency of our mission: to use legal advocacy to fight discrimination, build power, and demand safety and wellbeing for the diverse communities we come from and that we represent.

The impact of our work over the years is clear, from legacy, landmark cases like Hassan v. The City of New York, which challenged widespread N.Y.P.D surveillance of Muslim communities, to recent successes like Emami vs. Nielsen, which was six years in the making and recently won redress for the tens of thousands of people separated from their families by the Muslim and Africa bans.  And like so many of our partners, this year has been dominated by our extensive work supporting and defending the domestic movement for Palestinian lives and freedom—advocacy that includes our current representation of students at North Carolina State University in a Department of Education investigation into repressive anti-Palestinian discrimination on that campus.

But this moment in history calls on us to do more. Under a second Trump administration, we will face continued repression of the U.S. movement for Palestinian lives, renewed attacks on other movements for racial justice, and aggressively increased targeting of immigrants.  It is imperative that Muslim Advocates continue and expand its work in frontline communities, in the courts, and in states and localities where our advocacy will matter more than ever.