(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/27/23) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a congressional letter sent by Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA) to President Biden that expresses “deep concern with disparity in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s terrorism watchlists” and calls on the Biden administration to “take all necessary steps to prevent the watchlist from being managed or applied in a way that disproportionately harms Muslims.”
The letter cites CAIR’s recently released report titled “Twenty Years Too Many, A Call to Stop the FBI’s Secret Watchlist,” which details the FBI’s use of the Terrorism Screening Database to target Muslims and notes: “Of the 1.5 million individuals listed, CAIR estimates that 98 percent of the names are in reference to Muslims.”
CLICK HERE: READ REP. PORTER’S LETTER
SEE: READ CAIR’S NEW WATCH LIST REPORT
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We welcome Congresswoman Katie Porter’s letter to President Biden, which emphasizes the crucial need to address disparities in the FBI’s terrorism watchlist. We commend her for advocating to prevent the disproportionate harm inflicted on Muslims through the management and application of the watchlist.
“We deeply appreciate Congresswoman Porter’s recognition of CAIR’s recently-released report, titled ‘Twenty Years Too Many, A Call to Stop the FBI’s Secret Watchlist,’ which sheds light on the discriminatory targeting and profiling of Muslims by the FBI’s use of the Terrorism Screening Database.”
Representative Porter’s letter also reminded President Biden that while campaigning for office he committed to the American people that he “would review ’watchlist’ and ‘no-fly list’ processes to ensure that they do not have an adverse impact on individuals or groups based on national origin, race, religion or ethnicity, and improve the process to remove names, when justified, from these lists.”
The letter goes on to request the Biden administration for a status report on this commitment and answers to the following questions:
- “Since you became President, what changes has the FBI made to the management and application of the watchlist to prevent the disproportionate listing of Muslims, including disproportionate listing of people of Arab and South Asian race and nationality?”
- “What improvements has the FBI made during your Administration to the process to remove individuals from the watchlist when justified?”
- “How many names have been removed from the watchlist pursuant to the review you promised the American people? How many total names have been removed since your Administration began?”
- “According to the FBI’s website, auditors ‘ensure all laws and policies are being followed and that the information on the watchlist is accurate.’ What processes, audits, and other measures have been used in the management and application of the watchlist to address the disproportionate listing of Muslims, including the disproportionate number of people on the list of Arab and South Asian race and nationality?”
The letter concludes by requesting a formal response by July 15, 2023.
About CAIR’s Report “Twenty Years Too Many, A Call to Stop the FBI’s Secret Watchlist,”
Released on June 12, the report details the FBI’s use of the Terrorism Screening Database to target Muslims and called President Biden to take action to address the watchlist.
CAIR’s report found that the overwhelming majority, estimated to be around 98 percent, of names on the watchlist are Muslim names. More than 350,000 entries alone in the portion of the watchlist acquired by CAIR include some transliteration of Mohamed or Ali or Mahmoud and the top 50 most frequently occurring names are all Muslim names.
An individual’s watchlist status is used by government agencies to harass and humiliate people when they travel, to outright forbid people from flying, to deny individuals licenses and permits, to refuse to hire people or fire people already employed, to delay or deny visas and applications for U.S. citizenship or a US passport and subject the innocent people on the list to dangerous and invasive law enforcement actions.
CAIR announced the release of “Twenty Years Too Many, A Call to Stop the FBI’s Secret Watchlist” during US Council of Muslim Organization’s (USCMO) 8th National Muslim Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, Gabbas@cair.com, 720-251-0425; CAIR Trial Attorney Justin Sadowsky, jsadowsky@cair.com, 646-785-9154; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com