At Chicago Hearings, Immigrants Speak of the Terrors of Racial Profiling

October 23, 2003

Source: ColorLines Race Wire

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=fadc767ca85b7aa34e36f1ca401b00fc

On October 23, 2003 ColorLines Race Wire discussed the Chicago hearings of Oct.18th and 20th, during which a cross-section of more than 200 of the city's immigrant and African American community members gathered to witness testimonies from local residents who had experienced racial profiling and government targeting due to the war on terror. The events were held at DePaul University and an African American Baptist church on Chicago's South Side following a city council resolution urging the repeal of the Patriot Act. "'The Patriot Act is part of a whole wave of new policies and institutions that expanded federal power to engage in civil rights abuses and secrecy,' said Josina Morita, an associate researcher at the Applied Research Center, which organized the hearings along with Amnesty International. 'Racial profiling, which has long affected Blacks and Latinos, has spread alarmingly to immigrant communities since September 11.'" According to Muslims present, American racial profiling has increased even more in light of the rhetoric of homeland security. Kareem Irfan of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago insisted at the event that "'we will not let the truth be concealed and the nation be led astray. It is gratifying that we will not stand for silence today.'"