UPDATE: See below

(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 10/15/18) -- The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) today called on Republican State Committee Chairman Doug Steinhardt to repudiate anti-Muslim and racist comments made on Facebook and on the anti-Muslim hate site BarenakedIslam by Republican candidate for Chatham Borough Council, Peter Hoffman.

In a Facebook post Peter Hoffman stated that “a hyphenated American is not an American at all” and “assimilation is what made this country great, NOT emphasizing differences.” 

In a post to anti-Muslim hate site BarenakedIslam Hoffman stated, “Islam is a sick, backward faith practiced by low life scum. . .until the “moderate” Muslims rein in their sick brethren and stop this type of behavior, Islam will always be the religion of beasts in my mind.”

 

SEE: Hoffman’s anti-immigrant and anti-Islam social media posts contradict the candidate’s claims supporting diversity

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/articles/hoffman-s-anti-immigrant-and-anti-islam-social-media-posts-contradict-the-candidate-s-claims-supporting-diversity

"The statements Mr. Hoffman made reveal a level of prejudice that would impact how he might serve his constituents of different faiths and races, and should disqualify him as a candidate," said CAIR-NJ Executive Director James Sues. "The bigoted views expressed by Mr. Hoffman do a disservice to the welcoming community in New Jersey. This is just a painful reminder of the extreme divisiveness that characterizes the current political climate at the state and national level.”

He said CAIR has witnessed an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims, immigrants and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president.

SEE: CAIR Condemns Maryland GOP Candidate’s Islamophobic Campaign Mailer Citing Opposition to Mosque Expansion

https://www.cair.com/cair_condemns_maryland_gop_candidate_s_islamophobic_campaign_mailer_citing_opposition_to_mosque_expansion

CAIR’s 2018 Civil Rights Report, “Targeted,” the organization recorded a 17 percent increase in bias-motivated incidents against Muslim Americans from 2016-17, and a 15 percent increase in the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the same time period.

SEE: Targeted

http://www.islamophobia.org/reports/224-2018-civil-rights-report-targeted.html

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, 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.

END

CONTACT: CAIR-NJ Executive Director James Sues, 908-668-5900, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

...

Update: On 1/15/18 CAIR-NJ receive the following response from Mr Hoffman via Facebook

CAIR staff: I have issued a sincere public apology to the Muslim Community for my bigoted, insensitive, & unacceptable comments made 10 years ago in reaction to an extremist video I viewed on a virulent anti-Islamic hate site. My comments, while emotional, are completely indefensible and I'm am sorry beyond words. I painted all Muslims with a bigoted brush and I while I cannot take the words back, I have committed to demonstrating my sincerity to make things right with the Muslim community, and would be happy to meet with representatives of CAIR to express my profound regret in person. My formal apology can be found here. https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/letters-to-the-editor/articles/commitment-to-civil-discourse

...

CAIR-NJ welcomes Mr. Hoffman’s public apology and commitment to dialogue. We look forward to engaging with him, and working together toward a more accepting and tolerant New Jersey.

 

CAIR-NY, CAIR-NJ Challenge Trump Administration’s ‘Digital Muslim Ban’ Cellphone Seizure

Muslim civil rights group says customs officials kept cellphone for 130 days without any warrant or explanation  

(South Plainfield, NJ, 8/23/18) – The New York and New Jersey chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY and CAIR-NJ), state chapters of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights group, today filed a case in federal court challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) warrantless and unconstitutional seizure of an American Muslim U.S. citizen’s cell phone. 

Rejhane Lazoja, a 39-year-old woman residing in Staten Island, N.Y., had her phone taken when she landed at Newark Liberty International Airport earlier this year.  CBP held Lazoja’s iPhone 6S Plus and SIM card for 130 days, never explaining why they were taken. When CBP finally returned the phone, they refused to destroy copies of the data.

SEE: Woman: My iPhone Was Seized at Border, Then Imaged—Feds Must Now Delete Data https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/woman-my-iphone-was-seized-at-border-then-imaged-feds-now-must-delete-data/  

“The Trump administration needs to understand that our border is not a Constitution-free zone,” said CAIR-NY Legal Director Albert Fox Cahn. “As the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized, there is nothing more invasive than searching and copying the data on our smartphones. These phones track our location, our conversations and even our passing thoughts. Muslim travelers must not be subjected to this warrantless electronic dragnet simply for practicing their faith. Americans don’t forfeit their Fourth Amendment rights against searches simply for going to the airport. If CBP wants to search our phones, or if they want to access our social media accounts and text messages, I have a simple answer: get a warrant.”

“The CBP has been profiling Muslims for years as they cross the border,” said CAIR-NJ Legal Director Jay Rehman. “Their latest tactic of confiscating phones and attempting to retrieve data is a blatant violation of the Fourth Amendment privacy guaranteed under the Constitution.”

“It is astonishing that our government believes it is lawful to take phones for months from people who have done nothing wrong,” said CAIR-NY Attorney Carey Shenkman. “What happened to Ms. Lazoja, and so often does to Muslims who travel, is reprehensible.”

  “When I came back to the U.S., I expected to be welcomed home,” said plaintiff Rejhane Lazoja. “Instead, I was questioned, degraded, and had my phone taken away. I expected better from my country and from customs officials.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CAIR-NY and CAIR-NJ filed the case this morning in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey alleging that CBP violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution both by taking Lazoja’s iPhone, and by keeping it for months after she returned home to the United States on February 26, 2018. The case is styled as a motion for return of property under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g), and the Defendants include U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen, CBP Commissioner Kevin K. Mcaleenan, and CBP Newark Port Director Adele Fasano.

  The motion argues that CBP violated Lazoja’s Fourth Amendment rights not only by seizing the phone, but by the length of time the phone was retained and by any copying of her personal data. In June the U.S. Supreme Court held in Carpenter v. United States that police need to obtain a warrant in order to seize cell tower location data.

According to the filing: “Seizing and searching a cell phone is unlike seizing or searching any other property. Cell phones are a uniquely intimate and expansive repository of our lives. They do far more than just make calls and send e-mails; they monitor and log much of our movement, activity, and even our thinking in real time. They enable us to stay connected with coworkers and loved ones -- losing a phone essentially cuts one off from modern society. In June, the Supreme Court recognized the indispensability of cell phones and the heightened privacy interests at stake when they are utilized in warrantless investigations.”

SEE: August 23, 2018 Brief Supporting Motion for Return of Property. http://www.cair-ny.org/s/Lazoja-v-Nielsen-et-al-DNJ-FRCrP-Rule-41g-motion-8d5y.pdf

CBP has steadily increased electronic device searches at airports in recent years.  In fiscal year 2017, they searched 30,200 devices, up from 19,051 in the prior fiscal year.

  SEE: The Cybersecurity 202: Warrantless device searches at the border are rising. Privacy advocates are suing. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2018/08/07/the-cybersecurity-202-warrantless-device-searches-at-the-border-are-rising-privacy-advocates-are-suing/5b6883771b326b0207955f46/?

Meanwhile, Muslim travelers report that they are stopped for highly-invasive secondary inspection searches nearly three times as often as other Americans when traveling. According to a recent survey of Muslim travelers, 30 percent reported being subjected to secondary screening, which often includes cellphone searches, compared with 12 percent of overall travelers.

SEE: ISPU American Muslim Poll 2017 https://www.ispu.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/American-Muslim-Poll-2017-Report.pdf

 
The case comes as federal courts increasingly recognize that cellphones contain uniquely intimate data, and that searches of the data, apps, and other records they contain should require a warrant. 

The invasion was even more severe for Lazoja, whose phone contained confidential attorney-client communications and photos of her without her hijab (Islamic head scarf). Lazoja wears the hijab as an expression of her Islamic faith, covering her hair in front of men who are not relatives. CBP’s retention of such photos only compounds the trauma of this warrantless invasion of her privacy. Additionally, CBP may share this same data with local and other federal law enforcement agencies.

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, 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.

– END –

CONTACT: CAIR-NY Legal Director Albert Fox Cahn, 571-766-6273, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; CAIR-NJ Legal Director Jay Rehman, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 908-267-8898.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

CAIR New Jersey Calls for Dismissal of ICE Spokesman With Ties to Anti-Muslim Hate Groups

 

 (SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 8/6/2018) – The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), today called for the dismissal of New Jersey’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman who has ties to anti-Muslim hate groups and designated Islamophobes.

 According to an investigation by Star-Ledger and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Emilio Karim Dabul, the spokesman for the state’s ICE office, previously edited and wrote for anti-Muslim hate groups including ACT for America and David Horowitz Freedom Center.

 “It is unacceptable for someone with ties to known Islamophobes and anti-Muslim hate groups to speak on behalf of a government agency such as ICE,” said James Sues, executive director of CAIR-NJ. “We call for Emilio Karim Dabul’s immediate dismissal and will consider his continued employment as ICE’s acceptance of Islamophobia.”

 SEE: ICE's spokesman in N.J. has disturbing ties to hate groups

 https://articles.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2018/08/ices_strange_silence_on_its_nj_spokesmans_anti-mus.amp

 ACT for America has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). “Brigitte Gabriel,” the anti-Muslim group’s founder, has argued that, “America is at stage two Islamic Cancer.” She believes “every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim,” a Muslim “cannot be a loyal citizen of the United States,” and that Arabs “have no soul.” [NOTE: “Brigitte Gabriel” is also known as Hanah Kahwagi Tudor and Brigitte Tudor.]

 In the past, CAIR released two short videos exposing ACT for America’s bigotry and its links to White supremacist organizations.

 SEE: CAIR Releases Videos Exposing Anti-Muslim Hate Group ACT for America’s Bigotry, Links to White Supremacist Organizations

 https://www.cair.com/cair_releases_videos_exposing_anti_muslim_hate_group_act_for_america_s_bigotry_links_to_white_supremacist_organizations

 CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: ACT For America

 http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-organizations/36-act-for-america.html

 CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: Brigitte Gabriel

 http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-individuals/65-brigitte-gabriel-aka-hanah-kahwagi-tudor.html

 In addition to being an editor for Gabriel, Dabul wrote for David Horowitz Freedom Center’s publication, FrontPage Magazine. According to the SPLC, Horowitz works closely with Pamella Geller to help her fund the designated anti-Muslim group, Stop Islamization of America.

 Both Gabriel and Horowitz are listed as members of the nation’s "Anti-Muslim Inner Circle," according to the SPLC.

 Dabul has also praised and defended anti-Muslim activist Steven Emmerson.

 An Arab-American Thanks Steve Emerson

 SEE: http://archive.is/VF38s

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_neTsm-RNc

 While Emmerson self-describes as an “expert on terrorism,” he previously accused Gov. Chris Christie of having a “strange relationship with radical Islam” and claimed that the Oklahoma City bomber’s attack in 1995 showed “a Middle Eastern trait.”

 The Center for American Progress (CAP) classifies Emmerson’s group, the Investigative Project on Terrorism, as part of “the Islamophobia network in America.”

 Yesterday, CAIR-Georgia welcomed Anti-Iranian Judge Sharon Dickson's decision to step down from the Municipal Court of Sandy Springs after she made bigoted comments in the courtroom.

 SEE: CAIR-Georgia Welcomes City's Decision to Overturn Jail Sentence Imposed by Anti-Iranian Judge

https://www.cair.com/cair_georgia_welcomes_city_s_decision_to_overturn_jail_sentence_imposed_by_anti_iranian_judge

 Recently, CAIR has also called for the dismissals of Interior Secretary Zinke’s former spokeswoman Faith Vander Voort and top Trump appointee of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Thayer Verschoor.

 SEE: CAIR Calls on Interior Secretary Zinke to Drop Spokeswoman Who Claimed a Muslim Can’t Be President

https://www.cair.com/cair_calls_on_interior_secretary_zinke_to_drop_spokeswoman_who_claimed_a_muslim_can_t_be_president

SEE: CAIR Calls for Firing of VA Official Who Spread Conspiracy Theories, Islamophobic Comments

https://www.cair.com/cair_calls_for_firing_of_va_official_who_spread_conspiracy_theories_islamophobic_comments

 Last June, CAIR applauded the decision by members of the United Nation’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) to reject President Trump’s nominee for the position of director general to lead the organization because of his history of Islamophobic statements.

 SEE: CAIR Welcomes Rejection of Trump’s Islamophobic Nominee for U.N. Migration Post

https://www.cair.com/cair_welcomes_rejection_of_trump_s_islamophobic_nominee_for_u_n_migration_post

 CAIR has reported an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims, immigrants and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president. The Washington-based civil rights organization has also repeatedly expressed concern about Islamophobic and racist Trump administration policies and appointments.

 The Washington-based organization’s recently-released 2018 Civil Rights Report, “Targeted,” showed a 17 percent increase in bias-motivated incidents against American Muslims from 2016 to 2017, and a 15 percent increase in the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in that same time period.

 SEE: CAIR 2018 Civil Rights Report: Targeted

 CAIR 2018 Civil Rights Report: Targeted

http://www.islamophobia.org/reports/224-2018-civil-rights-report-targeted.html

 Community members are being urged to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR-NJ's Civil Rights Department at 908-668-5900 or by going to: https://nj.cair.com/your-rights/report-an-incident.html 

 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.

 -END-

 

CONTACT: CAIR-NJ Executive Director James Sues, 908-668-5900, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.