I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7100 
To direct the Attorney General to establish a task force on anti-Sikh hate 
and discrimination. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 15, 2026 
Mr. GOTTHEIMER (for himself and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To direct the Attorney General to establish a task force 
on anti-Sikh hate and discrimination. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sikh American Anti- 
Discrimination Act of 2026’’. 
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TASK FORCE ON ANTI- 
SIKH HATE AND DISCRIMINATION. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Sikhi is a monotheistic, pragmatic, inde-
pendent and sovereign world religion that was 
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founded by Guru Nanak in the 15th century in the 
Punjab region. 
(2) Sikhs are commonly identified by the wear-
ing of turbans, long beards or mustaches, karas 
(iron bracelets) on their wrists, or kirpans. Kirpans 
are mandatory Sikh articles of faith carried by 
Amritdhari (initiated) Sikhs at all times. The word 
‘‘kirpan’’ comes from two Punjabi words: ‘‘Kirpa’’ 
means an act of kindness, a favor and ‘‘Aan’’ means 
honor and self-respect. While some Sikhs wear a 
combination of these items; others may be seen with-
out a turban or facial hair. 
(3) Anti-Sikh hate and discrimination refers to 
any act, practice, policy, or conduct that denies, re-
stricts, or infringes upon the rights of individuals 
based on their actual or perceived Sikh faith, iden-
tity, ancestry, or expression. This includes incidents 
or crimes targeting Sikhs, individuals perceived to be 
Sikh, Gurdwaras (Sikh houses of worship), Sikh or-
ganizations, and property. It encompasses various 
forms of violence, threats, and harassment that are 
primarily motivated by religious or racial hostility, 
bigotry, hatred, or prejudice against Sikhs. 
(4) Sikhs have experienced bias-based violence 
since their arrival in this country more than a cen-
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tury ago. From the 1907 Bellingham Riots to the 
surge in hate crimes following the September 11th 
attacks, Sikhs have experienced targeted violence in 
the United States for generations. While some in-
stances of anti-Sikh violence have been linked to 
mistaken identity, there are several documented 
cases where Sikhs have been specifically targeted 
due to their faith or other aspects of their identities. 
(5) One of the most violent manifestations of 
anti-Sikh hate and discrimination in the United 
States occurred on August 5, 2012, when a white 
supremacist gunman with neo-Nazi ties carried out 
a mass shooting at a Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wis-
consin, killing six worshippers and injuring others; a 
seventh victim later died in 2020 from injuries sus-
tained in the attack. This targeted assault, one of 
the deadliest assaults against a house of worship in 
the history of the United States, remains a stark ex-
ample of the extreme and violent forms anti-Sikh 
discrimination can take. 
(6) On August 5, 2025, the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation (hereinafter known as the ‘‘FBI’’) re-
leased its annual report on hate crime statistics for 
2024, showing that Sikhs remain the third-most tar-
geted religious group in the United States, despite 
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comprising less than one percent of the national 
population. This disproportionate targeting under-
scores both the prevalence and severity of anti-Sikh 
hate and discrimination nationwide. 
(7) The true scope of anti-Sikh hate crimes in 
the United States is likely greater than Federal sta-
tistics indicate, as hate crime reporting is not feder-
ally mandated and many jurisdictions fail to submit 
annual data. Highlighting this gap, on November 
15, 2023, the former Director of the FBI noted in 
a hearing before the House Homeland Security 
Committee that hate crimes against the Sikh com-
munity, among others, are ‘‘chronically under-
reported’’. 
(8) On December 12, 2024, the White House 
released the U.S. National Strategy to Counter 
Islamophobia, which acknowledges that greater ef-
forts at combating anti-Sikh bias and hate must be 
made to better protect members of the Sikh commu-
nity. The strategy emphasized the need for increased 
awareness, understanding, and action to combat 
hate speech and discriminatory practices. 
(9) Hatred and violence targeting the Sikh 
community in the United States may also originate 
from, or be supported by, foreign entities and gov-
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ernments and can take the form of transnational re-
pression. The FBI has warned the Sikh community 
about such targeting by foreign governments. This 
phenomenon was underscored when the Department 
of Justice indicted two individuals for involvement in 
the attempted assassination of a Sikh American in 
2023. Such developments underline the ongoing and 
varied forms of hate and violence that Sikhs con-
tinue to face. 
(10) On June 3, 2025, following the prosecu-
tion and conviction of an individual for making vio-
lent threats against employees of a Sikh American 
advocacy group, Assistant Attorney General for Civil 
Rights Harmeet Kaur Dhillon addressed the issue of 
hateful rhetoric against Sikh Americans and stated, 
‘‘The Department of Justice has no tolerance for 
hate-fueled threats of violence in our country.’’. 
(11) Anti-Sikh hate and discrimination comes 
in many forms and includes— 
(A) physical violence and hate crimes, 
which can include acts of assault, shooting, van-
dalism, arson, or other criminal conduct in-
tended to cause bodily injury, death, or destruc-
tion of property, where such conduct is directed 
at Sikh individuals, or Sikh places of worship 
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(Gurdwaras), institutions, properties, or organi-
zations; 
(B) harassment and intimidation, which 
can include the making of violent threats, 
verbal abuse, hate speech, or other communica-
tions that incite, call for, justify, or promote vi-
olence, as well as conduct that places a Sikh in-
dividual or organization in reasonable fear of 
bodily injury or damage to property; 
(C) stereotyping and vilification, which can 
include dissemination of false narratives that 
target Sikhs with a dehumanizing intent, collec-
tively blaming or defaming the Sikh people or 
portraying the Sikh community in ways that 
normalize prejudice and incite hostility toward 
Sikh identity and Sikh expression; 
(D) civil rights violations, which can in-
clude the denial of equal treatment, protection, 
or opportunity in employment, education, or 
government services, including the adoption or 
enforcement of policies, rules, or practices that 
prohibit, restrict, or penalize the wearing of 
Sikh articles of faith, or otherwise interfere 
with the free exercise of religion; and 
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(E) transnational repression, which can in-
clude acts of harassment, intimidation, surveil-
lance, coercion, threats, or violence, directed at 
United States-based Sikhs, that are conducted 
by or on behalf of a foreign government. 
(12) Sikhs in the United States endure per-
sistent discrimination, harassment, and violence in 
their daily lives, facing a unique combination of hate 
violence, prejudice, religious discrimination, and 
transnational repression. Addressing this requires a 
dedicated task force focused specifically on com-
bating anti-Sikh hate and discrimination in all its 
forms. 
(b) TASK FORCE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the At-
torney General shall establish a Task Force on Anti- 
Sikh Hate and Discrimination (hereinafter known as 
the ‘‘Task Force’’). 
(2) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall— 
(A) draft a definition of anti-Sikh hate and 
discrimination for the Department of Justice to 
assist in prosecutorial decision-making and col-
lecting statistics on offenses under section 249 
of title 18, United States Code; and 
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(B) develop an educational program that 
may be disseminated to local and Federal law 
enforcement agencies, elementary schools and 
secondary schools, and institutions of higher 
education on Sikh and identifying anti-Sikh 
hate and discrimination. 
(3) REPORT.— 
(A) ANNUAL
REPORT.—The Task Force 
shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary 
of the House of Representatives and the Senate 
an annual report including an overview of— 
(i) hate crimes against a Sikh victim; 
(ii) any action brought against a per-
petrator of a hate crime against a Sikh vic-
tim; 
(iii) any ongoing threats and trends in 
hate against Sikhs, from transnational re-
pression and other sources; and 
(iv) any efforts undertaken by the De-
partment of Justice to combat anti-Sikh 
hate and discrimination. 
(B) ADDITIONAL
REPORT.—Every five 
years, the Task Force shall submit to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate a report summa-
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