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SF Mayor Signs Historic
Civil Rights Ordinance into Law
Ordinance Preventing SFPD Involvement in FBI Intelligence Abuses Signed After Unanimous Passage by San Francisco Board of Supervisors
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Earlier this morning, Mayor Edwin Lee signed the Safe San Francisco Civil Rights Ordinance. The Ordinance was passed unanimously by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, May 8. The Mayor was joined by the Ordinance sponsor Supervisor Jane Kim, Board President David Chiu, Supervisor Christina Olague, Police Chief Greg Suhr, and members of the Coalition for a Safe San Francisco.
Mayor Lee spoke in support of the Ordinance, alongside community member Mokhtar Alkhanshali, Executive Director of Asian Law Caucus Hyeon-Ju Rho, and President of Arab Cultural & Community Center Fuad Ateyeh, and in the presence of over fifty community members.
The Ordinance requires:
- adherence to San Francisco and California local standards when the SFPD works with the FBI's joint terrorism task force,
- that before any new agreements are entered into between the SFPD and the FBI regarding the JTTF work that those agreements must be subject to public review and comment before the Police Commission, and
- that yearly reports to the Police Commission of the SFPD's work with the FBI JTTF.
"In the coming months the Coalition will be working with the community, supporting organizations, and various officials to ensure proper implementation of the Ordinance" said Zahra Billoo, Executive Director of Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Francisco Bay Area, and a founding member of the Coalition.
"The Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian communities have experienced extreme discrimination in the aftermath of September 11," said Mokhtar Alkhanshali, a community member and founding member of the Coalition. "This Ordinance is a step toward protecting our community from racial and religious profiling, and requiring transparency and oversight."
A community celebration of the Coalition's work will be held on May 22, 6:30pm at the Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics (518 Valencia St., San Francisco).
For more information, please see:
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About The Asian Law Caucus:
The Asian Law Caucus was founded in 1972 as the nation's first legal and civil rights Asian American organization. Recognizing that social, economic, political and racial inequalities continue to exist in the United States, ALC is committed to the pursuit of equality and justice for all sectors of our society, with a specific focus directed toward addressing the needs of low-income, immigrant and underserved Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Asian Law Caucus is a member of the
Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. For more information, please visit http://asianlawcaucus.org.
About The Coalition for a Safe San Francisco:
The Coalition for a Safe San Francisco is a growing grassroots alliance dedicated to protecting the civil rights and civil liberties challenged by overbroad national security policies. These policies have historically impacted communities of struggle and today are disproportionately targeting South Asian, Arab, and Muslim Americans. Our Coalition seeks to end racial, religious, and ethnic profiling and harassment by local and federal law enforcement agents in the City and County of San Francisco through community organizing, education, and policy and legal advocacy. Visit: http://www.safesf.org.
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