(San Diego, CA, 5/3/2021) – The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) today announced the release of its annual statewide legal report which analyzes and summarizes all civil rights and immigration complaints in 2020 reported to CAIR-CA’s offices in the San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA), San Diego (CAIR-SD), Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA), Sacramento Valley and Central California areas (CAIR-SV/CC).
According to the report, CAIR-CA legal staff handled a total of 1,769 intakes in 2020. In March 2020, CAIR-CA offices were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and transitioned to providing remote legal services. The staff responded to the community’s rapidly evolving needs by expanding legal assistance to cover issues such as unemployment benefits, stimulus payments, as well as housing and eviction defense.
Of the 1,769 intakes in 2020, 771 were handled by CAIR-LA, 748 by CAIR-SFBA, 192 by CAIR-SV/CC, and 58 by CAIR-SD. The categories receiving the most incident reports for 2020 were immigration (61%), travel (8%), employment discrimination (5%), COVID-19 related (3%), and law enforcement harassment (5%).
CAIR-CA’s immigration attorneys represented clients on matters as diverse as removal defense, naturalization, adjustment of status, family reunification, employment authorization, and asylum. Immigration attorneys assisted in a total of 1,305 immigration-related matters.
This report highlights the impact of pandemic-related border closures and travel restrictions including assisting Yemeni Americans who struggled to ensure the safety of their loved ones who found themselves stranded in Yemen and unable to return home.
“In a year marked by social turmoil and a global pandemic,” said CAIR-SFBA Civil Rights & Legal Services Coordinator Ammad Rafiqi. “CAIR-CA lawyers advocated on behalf of individuals and families to uphold justice, equality, and religious harmony.”
CAIR-CA is a chapter of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: Communications Coordinator Zoha Raza, 408.418.6902, zraza@cair.com; CAIR-SV/CC Communications Manager Kalin Kipling-Mojaddedi, kkipling@cair.com; CAIR-LA Communications Manager Eugene Fields, efields@cair.com; CAIR-SD Operations & Development Manager Omair Khan, okhan@cair.com