Report show a 49 percent increase in reports of discriminatory treatment during travel
The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR California) today announced the release of its annual civil rights report.
CAIR California’s “Civil Rights Report 2017” summarizes and analyzes all civil rights and immigration complaints in 2016 reported to CAIR California’s offices in the Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA), the Sacramento Valley (CAIR-SV), San Diego (CAIR-SD), and the San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA).
According to the report, CAIR California handled a total of 1,239 incidents in 2016, resulting in a 10 percent increase in reported incidents from the previous year. The incidents reported involved complaints related to religious-based discrimination received by all four CAIR California offices and immigration matters reported to CAIR-LA and CAIR-SD.
Key highlights of CAIR California’s new report include a 49 percent increase in reported discriminatory treatment during travel from 2015 to 2016. The number of immigration matters handled also increased significantly.
CAIR-LA’s Immigrants’ Rights Center alone assisted in more than 400 immigration applications, with an increase of 58 percent in naturalization petitions from the previous year. The categories receiving the most incident reports for 2016 were immigration (38.8%), law enforcement interactions (17%), hate incidents or hate crime (14.7%) and employment discrimination (10.6%).
SEE: CAIR California’s Civil Rights Report 2017
“Given the hostile and divisive political atmosphere, and increasing bigotry targeting minority communities, including the American Muslim community, it is important for all of us to know the facts on the ground,” said Susanne Arani, CAIR San Diego’s staff attorney. “This report is further proof that as responsible members in our communities, we have a lot of work to do. We must come together and challenge such injustices.”
Arani said CAIR California is encouraging all Californians to gain a better understanding of their civil rights and to engage community leaders and public servants in dialogue about how they can better serve the state’s American Muslim community.