|
Report of the Muslim Community Focus Group
AMV is part of the VOICES Project,
a new federal immigration reform initiative
in Santa Clara County, CA
By Rabea Chaudhry
The American Muslim Voice is part of the VOICES Project (Voting & Organizing in Immigrant communities through Education & Support), a new federal immigration reform initiative that aims to support the civic participation of immigrants through the creation of a network on immigrant communities in Santa Clara County
Only the following six communities are chosen for this project: Iranian, Latino, Korean, Muslims/Pakistanis, Vietnamese, Western Africans, West African refugees.
An important component of the Project is a needs-assessment research study that looks at the needs and concerns of immigrants in Santa Clara County. This study will greatly inform a pro-immigrant rights agenda for our future work.
To assess the Community’s needs, each community leader organized a focus group research study to address their community's concerns and issues. Each community was required to list their issues and bring back top three issues to the group. As a VOICES Community Organizer for the Muslim immigrants, the AMV conducted their research study on Feb 14th at CAIR's office in Santa Clara.
A. Brief Description of Group of Participants
The groups’ participants were:
Mr. Zafar Mohsin and Zeya Mohsin a couple who has lived in America for over twenty years. Originally from Pakistan, the two now reside in Milpitas with their family. Mr. Mohsin is a Mechanical Engineer working with Cisco and Zeya is an educator (director at a preschool) both are very active within the Milpitas city council.
Dr. Waheed Siddiqee, a senior citizen, who lives in the Bay Area. He has been in America for over forty years. His outreach work began in the early nineties, during the Gulf War, when he started interfaith groups and dialog in order to facilitate mutual understanding during a time of tense racial and religious relations. He retired from Lockheed seven years ago and is currently is a volunteer teacher and an advocate for peace and justice.
Ms. Aneela Hader is a recent college graduate, receiving a BA from Cornell University. She was not born in America, but has grown up in this country. She plans on attending law school soon, and is very active with the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara. Both her parents are Pakistani.
Ms. Amina Ansari is the Program Director of CAIR’s Santa Clara office. She graduated from college and moved from Washington State to work in the Bay Area. She was recently married and does a lot of work within the Muslim community under the auspices of CAIR. She was born in America and is of South Asian descent.
Ms. Rabea Chaudhry has recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Comparative Literature. Her parents were both born in Pakistan, and she and her siblings were all born in the US. She will be attending UCLA Law School in the fall.
Ms. Samina Faheem Sundas is the director of American Muslim Voice. She lives in Palo Alto with her two children. She migrated from Pakistan in 1979. Since 9-11 she has devoted her life advocating and protecting immigrant, civil and human rights in America.
These are Issues that are effecting Muslim community especially since 9/11.
Focus Group Report
1: 9/11 Targeting of the Muslim community
2: Erosion of civil liberties
A: USA Patriot Act
B: Secret evidence
C: INS Special Registration
D: Abolishment of due process
E: Loss of free speech at educational institutions
3: Traveling (detention at the airports)
4: Discrimination at school, work places and housing
5: Need sources and grants to serve Muslim seniors, youth and new immigrant families. ( English, social services, civic education, legal help, community education, advancement and empowerment of the community. )
A. Top Three Identified Challenges Prioritized
There were many challenges that were brought up during the discussion.
1: The environment of fear and suspicion that has resulted due to the USA Patriot Act, INS Special Registration, Secret Evidence Act, racial profiling and other biased policies were unanimously recognized as something that genuinely affected the psychology of the immigrant community in USA. As Ms. Samina Faheem Sundas stated, " The USA Patriot Act has silenced our community, it has created a culture of fear, anger, frustration, anxiety, mistrust and helplessness. Many public officials including our Senator Diane Fienstien think that the Patriot Act hadn’t affected anybody. The Patriot Act has been a very effective tool and has done its job. For Muslims it is an invisible sword that is always hanging over their heads. What else are they hoping to gain? So, you’re absolutely right. That has affected our community tremendously.
The group agreed that Secret Evidence act needed to be repealed and abolished, as it is, essentially, wholly UN-American in spirit. Provide every suspected with due process and maintain their right to be innocent until proven guilty, the group demanded.
In election 2000 Muslims voted as a Bloc vote for the first time and voted for George W. Bush, the republic candidate. That decision was based on Mr. Bush's accessibility and a promise to repeal the " Secret Evidence Act" The group demanded that all residence of the USA should be given equal rights and due process in an open court and with open evidence with complete transparency.
Dr. Waheed Siddiquee stated that there is no clear cut definitions of a terrorist , terrorist actions and speech. If the administration will provide this information it would really relieve a lot of the stress he felt. He would like a list of defining actions of what makes one a terrorist from the FBI point of view that could be posted in mosques and other Muslim gathering places so that the community knows exactly what to avoid.
2: Traveling was another issue brought up by the group. There were several individual stories of undo scrutiny at airports by airport personnel simply because of one’s appearance or Muslim name. Racial profiling was now recognized as a normal routine at airports that has furthered the “us” versus “them” hysteria that is sweeping the nation.
Mr. Zafar Mohsin’s experience was narrated as follows:
I can share one incident. Last year I went to visit my family in Canada. While going to Canada I passed through immigration & customs and they treated me very nicely, I did not’t notice any difference between my treatment (and that) of native Canadians and immigrants. While coming back to US first I was questioned by an immigration officer, he asked me, “What’s your name? Where are you going and why?” after I answered his questions he said, “okay” and gave me a stamp and said I could go. While I was waiting in the custom’s line, the immigration officer stood up and pointed me out to the custom officer saying that’s the person that you need to stop and check. When I reached the custom’s desk I was stopped and asked to go into an adjoining room. I went there and waited for about fifteen minutes and a custom’s officer came in and asked for my passport and started questioning me. I told him I’d been here for twenty-two years. It took almost 40-45 minutes for the screening process and he told me that the interview is over and that I was cleared to enter the US. Before I left, he told me that he wanted to ask me some non-interview questions, such as, “Why are the Taliban against us?” I said, “I don’t know.” He said, “No, you must know because you’re from Pakistan, it’s written on your passport.” I said, “No, I don’t know and I don’t want to discuss it.” He said, “By the way, the interview is over and we want you to educate us and help us understand.” I said, “No, I’m not in a position to answer these questions.” So he didn’t say anything and said that I could go. I asked him why he stopped me because I’ve entered the US so many times and this was the first time that I was stopped. He told me that my name was picked up in the computer. I didn’t say anything and just walked away. This incident happened in August 2004.
Ms Samina Sundas brought up another issue that is effecting many immigrants who are permanent residents ( Green Card holders) is the difficulty in bringing over a spouse from overseas. Ms. Zeby Mohsin (Afar’s wife) related a story:
“It has been brought to my attention that men who have been married and have applied for their spouse's change of status end up waiting for much longer period than expected. ( estimated time four years) if they become citizens while the visa has not been approved for their spouse. The whole process is wiped out and they have to start all over again due to their status change.. And in the meantime if you have a child he or she cannot come into this country because the child's name was not on the application. She stated that she knows one wife who had to stay in Pakistan for eight years because when she got married her husband was a green card holder and by the time he became a citizen the whole process had to start over again. And she was not’t allowed to bring her child into this country and her parents said, ‘you’ve been away from your husband for eight years, it’s fine. Go to America and leave your child with us.’ They had to do the whole process again for their son.”
Seen as an unnecessary and unnatural forced separation, the group wants this legislation to be immediately addressed and demanded an explanation for this process. What purpose does this law serve? The group wondered. What can such legislation possibly achieve other than to separate the new families?
B. Solutions to those identified challenges
Since racial profiling has been institutionalized and legalized through various laws, such as Patriot Act and Secret Evidence Act, those laws need to be changed. These laws are at present being used against the Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities, but the participants feared that they may be used against any citizen of the United States. Therefore, we have to continue mass campaign against these laws and also urge our congressmen not to renew the Patriot Act when its sunset clause comes into affect. This act has a ''sunset clause'' which requires Congress to review it in December 2005 to judge its effects on civil liberties.
C. How did these challenges and solutions linked to the federal level
Actually these are the federal laws – the Patriot Act and Secret Evidence Act as well as Immigration laws – which are affecting the Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities, although they are equally applicable to other communities. However, we see that they are applied to these communities with zero tolerance while application of these laws are overlooked for others. Therefore any solution to these problems are to be handled at the federal level.
1. The Voices group decided to take on the following four issues for this project.
1: Immigration Reform (legalization, citizenship, TPS, family reunification, Refugees)
2: Discrimination (civil liberties, racial profiling, Patriot Act)
3: Economic (budget, housing, wages)
E 4: Education (Adult education, community education, cultural adaptation/integration and empowerment)
Each community leader has been assigned to take the lead on a specific area to research
Ms. Samina F. Sundas has been assigned to do further research on the USA Patriot Act, sunset clause and its affects on Muslim and immigrant communities and advised the group of what actions to take.
The VOICES project was created to support the civic participation of underserved immigrant communities in Santa Clara County. While making up the majority of the County’s total population, immigrants have been battling to have more influence on federal policies and issues that affect them. In the past 10 years and especially since 9-11, immigrant communities have fought for policies that expand legalization and refugee admissions, defend civil rights and civil liberties, promote family reunification, and protect rights at work. The goal of the VOICES project is to unite those voices and create a network of immigrant communities in Santa Clara County to hold legislators accountable and advocate for better federal polices for all. Together, we are stronger and our voices louder.
About American Muslim Voice: We are a grassroots, nonviolent, inclusive, civil, immigrant and human rights organization building alliances and genuine partnership with like minded groups and individuals to protect and preserve civil liberties and constitutional rights for ALL. Our goal is to bridge the gap between all communities and unite us all under the umbrella of our common humanity.
March 14, 2005
|
