III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 626 

Upholding the civil liberties and civil rights of Iranian Americans and 

condemning bigotry, violence, and discrimination. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2020 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself and Mr. KAINE) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Upholding the civil liberties and civil rights of Iranian Americans and condemning bigotry, violence, and discrimination. 

Whereas Iranian Americans serve as government officials, in 

the military, and in law enforcement, working to uphold 

the Constitution of the United States and to protect all 

Americans; 

Whereas Iranian Americans uphold democratic values and believe in the pillars of America—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; 

Whereas Iranian Americans are vibrant, peaceful, and lawabiding citizens of the Baha’i, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, 

and Zoroastrian faiths, or are nonreligious; 


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•SRES 626 IS 

Whereas Iranian Americans have contributed greatly to the 

social and economic fabric of American society; 

Whereas the Small Business Administration finds Iranian 

Americans among the immigrant groups with the highest 

rates of business ownership in the United States; 

Whereas Iranian Americans are award-winning artists, scientists, and athletes; 

Whereas the United States condemns acts of bigotry, violence, and discrimination; 

Whereas dozens of Americans of Iranian heritage were detained for several hours at the Peace Arch Border in 

Washington State in January 2020 based on their ethnicity or national origin; 

Whereas a directive was published appearing to show that the 

Seattle Field Office directed border patrol agents to target Iranian, Lebanese, and Palestinian nationals born between 1961 and 2001 for additional vetting; 

Whereas Customs and Border Protection in the Department 

of Homeland Security initially denied that there was any 

directive ordering the detainment of Iranian Americans; 

Whereas many Iranian Americans have been deeply shaken 

by this discriminatory treatment, with some members of 

the community stating that they will not travel outside of 

the country for fear of being unfairly targeted based on 

their national heritage; 

Whereas the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the 

Department of Homeland Security has opened an investigation into the detention of Iranian Americans at the 

border; 


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•SRES 626 IS 

Whereas the United States Commission on Civil Rights, established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957, said that it 

‘‘expresses deep concern over the treatment of Iranians 

and Iranian Americans in airports, and calls on the Department of Homeland Security to take all necessary 

steps immediately to ensure equitable treatment of all 

people at America’s borders’’; 

Whereas according to a survey commissioned by the Public 

Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, the percentage of 

Iranian Americans who say they have personally experienced discrimination because of their ethnicity or national origin was 49 percent in 2018; 

Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2019 Hate 

Crime Statistics reveals that the most common bias motivation of single-bias incidents is due to race, ethnicity, or 

ancestry bias at 59.6 percent of all incidents; and 

Whereas Iranian Americans have long faced discrimination in 

times of turbulence in the relationship between the 

United States and Iran: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns bigotry and acts of violence or 

3 discrimination against any American, including Ira4 nian Americans; 

5 (2) declares that government leaders and law 

6 enforcement personnel should ensure that the civil 

7 rights and civil liberties of all Americans, including 

8 Iranian Americans, are fully protected; 

9 (3) encourages local, State, and Federal elected 

10 officials to engage Iranian Americans to share their 


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•SRES 626 IS 

1 experiences with their communities to end stereo2 types, correct misconceptions, and convey instances 

3 of abuse against the Iranian American community; 

4 (4) calls upon local, State, and Federal law en5 forcement authorities to investigate and vigorously 

6 prosecute crimes committed against all Americans, 

7 including Iranian Americans, that are based on ac8 tual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, 

9 or ethnicity; 

10 (5) urges the Office of Civil Rights and Civil 

11 Liberties in the Department of Homeland Security 

12 to conclude a thorough and timely investigation into 

13 detentions of Iranian Americans at the border; and 

14 (6) calls on Customs and Border Protection in 

15 the Department of Homeland Security to halt imme16 diately any orders that encourage discrimination on 

17 the basis of nationality or religion, including those 

18 targeting individuals of Iranian heritage. 

Æ 


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