Press Release
Asian American Civil Rights Groups Ask Government To Reveal How It Targets Individuals from “Special Interest Countries”
Two prominent Asian American civil rights organizations today asked the federal government to reveal how Customs and Border Protection agents may single out individuals at the border based solely on their national origin. The Asian Law Caucus (ALC), based in San Francisco, and the Asian American Legal Defense Fund (AALDEF), based in New York, issued a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request to understand how immigration authorities’ internal lists designating individuals from “special interest countries” may be used to stop innocent citizens and non-citizens for indiscriminate searches and questioning.
“Subjecting individuals from certain countries to extensive searches and interrogations without any cause or specific intelligence information is tantamount to racial profiling. We are concerned that the civil rights of thousands of travelers are being violated because of a government policy on ‘special interest countries.’ The American public deserves to know what the policy is and how it is being used,” said Veena Dubal, a staff attorney at the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco.
Over the past four years, ALC and AALDEF have received numerous inquiries from U.S. citizens and residents regarding CBP interviews and searches at U.S. ports of entry. Many individuals have expressed concerns related to lengthy secondary inspections, searches, and interviews including questioning about lawful religious and political activities. These concerns have been primarily reported by Muslim, Arab or South Asian individuals who feel that they may be targeted as a result of their nationality or ethnicity. On March 4, 2008, the McClatchy Newspaper disclosed a February 2006 ICE memo which reported federal agencies’ use of internal lists of “special interest countries” for national security reasons. The article further disclosed that an individual designated as a “special interest alien” would be subject to a “full court press” of interviews, inspections and database checks.
Sameer Ahmed, a Skadden Fellow at AALDEF, reiterated the importance of government transparency on this issue. “The Obama Administration claims to have committed itself to an unprecedented level of openness while also distancing itself from the discriminatory post-9/11 policies of the Bush Administration,” Ahmed said. “Only by releasing the requested information will the public know for certain that the government is making good on its promises.”
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is a national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF works with Asian American communities across the country to secure human rights for all.