“It was an honor to partner with the Sikh Coalition to produce this important resource,” said Jim Sonne, a professor of law at Stanford Law School and the founding director of its Religious Liberty Clinic. “Religious freedom is a universal value, but those fleeing persecution and those charged with providing asylum from it need tools like those provided in this report to make such freedom an active and human reality.”
The Sikh Coalition recognizes that immigration is a long-standing and complex issue. Even though immigration policy is not a primary focus area of our work, we are committed to ensuring that impacted community members’ civil rights are protected. In 2019, The Sikh Coalition began working on the immigration crisis by advocating on behalf of Sikh detainees who were suffering civil rights abuses in detention centers;
this work included filing a complaint with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (“ICE”), testifying before Congress, rallying partner organizations in a day of action to support Sikh and Cuban detainees, and revising the Punjabi version of the National Detainee Handbook. We continue to partner with and provide support to other immigration and civil rights organizations, specifically on detention-related civil rights issues involving Sikhs in the United States.
As always, the Sikh Coalition urges you to practice your faith fearlessly.