•HRES 1008 IH 
Whereas Iranian Americans are vibrant, peaceful, and law- 
abiding citizens of the Baha’i, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, 
and Zoroastrian faiths, or are nonreligious; 
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, sci-
entists, and athletes; 
Whereas the United States condemns acts of bigotry, vio-
lence, and discrimination; 
Whereas dozens of Americans of Iranian heritage were de-
tained for several hours at the Peace Arch Border in 
Washington State in January 2020 based on their eth-
nicity or national origin; 
Whereas a directive was published appearing to show that the 
Seattle Field Office directed border patrol agents to tar-
get Iranian, Lebanese, and Palestinian nationals born be-
tween 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 inves-
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•HRES 1008 IH 
tigation into the detention of Iranian Americans at the 
border; 
Whereas the United States Commission on Civil Rights, es-
tablished 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 De-
partment 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 experi-
enced discrimination because of their ethnicity or na-
tional origin was 49 percent in 2018; 
Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2019 Hate 
Crime Statistics reveals that the most common bias moti-
vation 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns bigotry and acts of violence or 
discrimination against any American, including Ira-
nian Americans; 
(2) declares that government leaders and law 
enforcement personnel should ensure that the civil 
rights and civil liberties of all Americans, including 
Iranian Americans, are fully protected; 
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•HRES 1008 IH 
(3) encourages local, State, and Federal elected 
officials to engage Iranian Americans to share their 
experiences with their communities to end stereo-
types, correct misconceptions, and convey instances 
of abuse against the Iranian American community; 
(4) calls upon local, State, and Federal law en-
forcement authorities to investigate and vigorously 
prosecute crimes committed against all Americans, 
including Iranian Americans, that are based on ac-
tual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, 
or ethnicity; 
(5) urges the Office of Civil Rights and Civil 
Liberties in the Department of Homeland Security 
to conclude a thorough and timely investigation into 
detentions of Iranian Americans at the border; and 
(6) calls on Customs and Border Protection in 
the Department of Homeland Security to halt imme-
diately any orders that encourage discrimination on 
the basis of nationality or religion, including those 
targeting individuals of Iranian heritage. 
Æ 
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