(CLEVELAND, OHIO – 11/18/2022) – The executive director of the Cleveland Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ohio yesterday addressed students at Case Western Reserve University Law School on the topic of civil and human rights in post-9/11 America.
Invited by the Muslim Law Students Association, CAIR-Cleveland’s Executive Director Julia Shearson spoke on issues of surveillance and privacy rights, disparate treatment in immigration enforcement, religious freedom in correctional institutions and other issues that impact the Muslim community and the constitutional rights of all Americans.
Shearson shared a documentary called “I Am an American” which exemplifies the struggle of innocent Muslim Americans stigmatized by the so-called terror watch list. The film, which is part of the permanent collection of the 911 Memorial & Museum in NYC, highlights the Freedom of Information/Privacy Act case Shearson v. DHS which set legal precedent in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.
For more information on the I Am an American book and film series see: Open Democracy
In reflecting on some two decades working in the civil rights arena, Shearson also spoke of the immigration case that helped launch the Cleveland chapter of CAIR. The case involved a Palestinian immigrant and mother of three US Citizen children who was being deported under the unconstitutional and discriminatory Alien Absconder Apprehension Initiative, a 2002 memorandum issued by the US Department of Justice which sought to target for selective enforcement immigrants coming from Muslim-majority countries.
SEE: Pressing Public Necessity: The Unconstitutionality of the Absconder Apprehension Initiative
Shearson spoke of the powerful collaborations between attorneys and advocates that can help advance the cause of civil rights. She pointed to CAIR’s role nationwide in promoting American Muslims to go into careers in law, political science, and journalism in order to help fight back against civil rights abuses in the national security context and to help promote justice and equitable public policy.
“I felt encouraged and proud to see so many Muslim young people in the ranks of high-caliber law schools such as Case,” CAIR-Ohio Cleveland chapter Executive Director Julia Shearson said. “Upon graduation, these young people will help shape the future of public policy and the law in America.”
First-Year CWRU law school student and current CAIR-Ohio intern Shatha Shahin, spoke about her work with CAIR’s Empowerment Program for Incarcerated Communities (EPIC), a project that involves outreach to thousands of people incarcerated in Ohio’s jails and prisons. The program is designed to help provide educational materials about Islam and civil rights as well as to help advocate for the religious rights and freedoms for incarcerated communities.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Chapter Executive Director Julia Shearson, 216.830.2247, jshearson@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202.744.7726, ihooper@cair.com