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DHS Responds To Arab American Concerns Over Census Data

Posted on Tuesday August 17, 2004

On August 13th, representatives of the Arab American Institute and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials including Commissioner Robert Bonner and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Dan Sutherland to discuss Arab American concerns regarding the DHS’s request for Census data on Arab ancestry and the results of the CBP’s inquiry into the data request.

A DHS statement released in response to this meeting and the inquiry notes that the data “arose from two separate” and informal requests. The first request “concerned several languages, not just Arabic” and the second request “was …based on a specific list of countries of concern designated by the U.S. Department of State” that went beyond the Arab world. The DHS also states that “neither request – and no request at any time – asked for identification of Arabic speaking people or Arabic ancestry by zip code,” and that CBP “did not release any of this information to any other agency and did not, in fact, use, forward, or maintain the information and the information was deleted.”

During the meeting, Commissioner Bonner was adamant about CBP’s policy forbidding racial, ethnic or religious profiling. Upon learning of this issue, Bonner “directed that all future requests for such Census information must be reviewed and approved by CBP Assistant Commissioners.”

The Arab American Institute appreciates the swift action taken by CBP on this issue. While it is unfortunate that the request was made without consideration of the effect that it would have on the Arab American community, the DHS’s response has helped to assuage fears of racial profiling generated by this incident.

The Arab American Institute, which is an official Census Information Center, has written to the Census Bureau raising concerns about the provision of Arab ancestry data to DHS. (For complete text of the letter signed by more than 50 organizations and individuals: www.aaiusa.org/census_letter.htm) AAI will have a teleconference with Census Director Kincannon, along with other concerned organizations, later this month and a special joint session of the professional, race and ethnic advisory committees to the Bureau will take place in October. AAI continues to press for a vigorous response to the principal issue at stake: erosion of the public trust in the Census.

“The harm done to Arab American confidence in the census is immeasurable. Our community sees this episode, regardless of the facts at hand, as one more reason to feel unprotected and unfairly targeted. We believe that data-sharing safeguards can be strengthened to keep data available but to also keep communities safe from official misuse. We look to the Bureau for a plan of action that addresses these inter-agency concerns,” said Helen Samhan, Executive Director of the Arab American Institute Foundation.