I had the honor of participating in the last White House Hispanic Action Summit this past weekend. It was a great chance to meet over 200 Latino community members from across the Bay Area and also have the chance to share the administration’s new deferred action policy and civil rights protections with the community.
More information about the Summit can be found here.
I recently spoke at a forum in Buffalo regarding law enforcement and civil rights, more information here.
"How far law enforcement should be able to go in breaching civil liberties in order to protect the homeland was the subject of a wide-ranging conversation Tuesday night on the University at Buffalo North Campus.
The discussion, with a panel of federal and local law enforcement officials, was arranged in the wake of a series of Associated Press stories about New York City Police Department surveillance of various Muslim organizations not only in New York City but stretching all the way to Western New York.”
I spoke with Ambassador Cook and Kozak on the Istanbul Process as part of a U.S. State Department webchat. It can be viewed here.
Description from State iiP:
After years of debate, the international community passed an important resolution calling on states to take action to combat religious intolerance without placing bans on speech. As Secretary Clinton stated, “Under this resolution, the international community is taking a strong stand for freedom of expression and worship, and against discrimination and violence based upon religion or belief. These are fundamental freedoms that belong to all people in all places, and they are certainly essential to democracy.” On December 14, join us for a live webchat featuring representatives from the U.S. Department of State, Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security. These speakers will discuss ways the United States will engage representatives from countries and international organizations on best practices in the areas of enforcing anti-discrimination laws and government outreach and training.
A piece about my participation in the New Jersey Homeland Security Conference addressing civil rights concerns of the Hindu-American and Sikh-American communities in New Jersey.
Join me tomorrow, December 14, 2011 at 7:45 EST on the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomacy Channel as I discuss my participation in a joint U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security event on religious freedom (the “Istanbul Process”, UNHRC Resolution 16/18).
"The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights announced this week that it will look into how new immigration laws in Georgia and several other states are affecting people’s civil rights.
The commission plans to review whether enforcement of the laws has fostered or contributed to an increase in hate crimes, compromised public safety, elevated racial and ethnic profiling or affected students rights to a public education, according to a news release. Chairman Martin Castro said enactment of the laws ‘presents a pressing national civil rights issue that affects immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.’ ” Read More