On Tuesday, March 4, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the oldest and largest organization dedicated to defending Muslim civil liberties in the United States, presented “Not Another Muslim Ban,” a ‘know your rights’ training for international students.

This training was sponsored by the NC State Graduate Workers Union, Students for Justice in Palestine, the Muslim Students Association, Dissenters, Campus Community Alliance for Environmental Justice and Young Democratic Socialists of America, among others.

It was aimed at addressing “Muslim affairs under the new administration” as well as featured community iftar, the fast-breaking meal during Ramadan.

President Trump continues to threaten the rights of immigrants and international students — sharing on social media that, “agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,” in reference to what he calls “illegal protests” on college campuses. 

Trump has also ended the temporary protective status for Venezuelans and rescinded the extension of this status for Haitians. It has become increasingly important for these students and community members to understand their options.

Al Rieder, the director of CAIR’s North Carolina chapter, gave the presentation, opening by saying, “As we gather, we face a critical moment in American history, one that’s raised many questions and concerns for our Muslim community.” 

He continued, “Many of us are grappling with uncertainty about our rights and safety, the future of Muslim affairs in the United States, immigration policies, civil rights, executive orders, DOGE and even the safety of our masjid.”

Executive Orders

Rieder began the presentation by discussing executive orders, saying, “Under this administration, we’ve already seen executive orders aimed at limiting rights and freedoms. One of the most notable is the policy that rescinded the sensitive locations policy.”

“While they still need a judicial warrant to enter the masjid, school, the hospital, what have you, which were formerly safe spaces, safe havens, they no longer need one to loiter outside, in the parking lot, or enter public spaces. They still cannot enter private spaces,” he said. However, Rieder explained that the distinction between public and private spaces can be blurry.

“This change puts Muslim communities at risk, especially at masjid,” the Arabic word for mosque, where he says the most vulnerable community members often are. He stated that ICE’s actions are, “often intended to, and frequently do, create fear and concern” within communities.

He said, for example, if you are in the parking lot of a building, “for any reason, they can stop and pull you over and say, I need to see [your] ID, I need to verify that you’re here legally.”

He said lobbies are considered to be public spaces as well and, “they can arrest anyone they want to arrest, if they have reasonable cause in the lobby.”

Rieder also said rooms that are locked or clearly labeled as private are the ones that agents cannot enter.

He provided the example of a storage closet, saying, “If you as an undocumented person, or as a person who is fearful in general of ICE, walks into that room and locks the door, they cannot follow you. They can, however, loiter in the building until you come out. But if the building closes at a certain hour, then obviously, you have to leave, so basically, you’re stuck there until the building closes. But that’s better than being detained.”

Birthright Citizenship

Rieder then went into birthright citizenship saying it, “Has long been a cornerstone of American law… however, the new administration has taken steps to undermine this right.” 

He added, “The good news is that courts pushed back, with 22 state attorneys general, including Jeff Jackson of North Carolina, [filing lawsuits] against this executive order. And almost as soon as it went into effect, it suddenly went away.”

Rieder also cautioned listeners, though, saying, “This does not mean, however, that something similar cannot come back.”

Immigration

Reider followed that up with a discussion about the broader immigration landscape, saying, “The new administration has signaled its intent to make life more difficult for immigrants, including Muslims.”

“While the original Muslim Ban has not been reinstated, policies are still in place that make it harder for Muslims to enter or remain in the United States. Executive orders are being issued to tighten vetting processes … these measures might delay or prevent Muslim individuals and families from getting visas.”

Rieder shared an example from his own life prior to Trump taking office, showing how entering the country can be made difficult even for U.S. citizens.

He said he was visiting family in Karachi, Pakistan and came back to the U.S. through Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., “When we got to Dulles, before our flight back to RDU, we were pulled aside by customs.” He said they then had their passports put into a box and had to wait for almost an hour before being seen. 

“They took our luggage, opened it up and for the next like 15 to 20 minutes, they had us take every individual piece of our luggage out, inspected it and put it back in.” He said, “Thankfully our flight wasn’t till the next day,” but added, “If our flight was that day we probably would have missed our flight.”

Rieder added they went through this due to him having a ‘quadruple S’ on his airline ticket, which stands for “Secondary Security Screening Selection.”

“95 plus percent of the people [on the list for additional screening] have ‘Muslim-sounding’ names. This is something that CAIR has sued the federal government over and actually won a Supreme Court Case recently, nine to zero over this. It has not been de-implemented though.”

He went on to say, “We have now had reports of people [who are U.S. citizens] taking upwards of three hours” going through the same additional screening he had described.

“My advice for folks who are US citizens put in this situation is that you need to book a flight in which your domestic flight, connecting flight and your international flight have at least a three-hour window. Do not book a flight that has a 50-minute connection or an hour-and-40-minute connection; that connection better be at least three hours for the rest of [Trump’s] presidency,” said Rieder.

He said that if another Muslim ban were to happen, it would likely be done using the State Department’s travel advisory classification system.

FBI, ICE and Knowing Your Rights

Finally, Rieder went over how to deal with the FBI and ICE, as well as knowing your specific rights.

He first emphasized, “If the FBI knocks on your door do not open it without a valid judicial warrant.” He advised people to always ask to see a warrant before opening their doors, saying that they could ask to have the warrant shown to them through a window or slipped underneath a door in order to make sure it is signed by a judge.

He continued, “You should never sign anything without legal counsel present,” and stressed the importance of knowing your rights, particularly, the right to remain silent.

For foreign nationals dealing with ICE, Rieder said one thing they can do is ask to speak with their consulate or embassy, “they legally have to [allow] you a phone call.”

He also described what denotes a judicial warrant, saying that judicial warrants are specific and signed by a judge and that these warrants will have ‘U.S. District Court’ on them or another specific court, “If it does not have a specific judge and a specific reason and a specific court, it is not a judicial warrant.”

He added, “Many times ICE will show warrants issued by the [Department of Homeland Security,” which he says “are not real,” as they do not allow authorities to legally enter a home.

Rieder also wanted people to know that if ICE enters their home, they have the legal right to record the officers. He said, “There needs to be someone at every masjid,” who is dedicated to knowing what to do if ICE enters their space.

Rieder also wanted to ease a bit of anxiety saying, “It’s also important to understand who is most at risk of being targeted by ICE: non-citizens without legal immigration status, those who violated their immigration status, individuals with prior deportation orders, certain criminal convictions or those perceived as national security risks are often prioritized. Which means, if you do not fall under any of these categories, you should not have to worry as much, you should not be in as much fear.”

He cautioned that while individuals outside of these categories are not priorities for warrants, they can still have trouble with ICE or law enforcement over their immigration status.

He ended by saying, “Be on your toes, be diligent, but don’t be too fearful, just know what to do.”

Community Gathering and Iftar

As Ramadan is ongoing and the timing of this training overlapped with the sunset, at 6:15 PM, the event included iftar, or the fast-breaking meal. The iftar featured catering from local Palestinian chef Asma Aljundi, who also serves as a board member of the One Body Initiative, a non-profit based half in Durham and half in Gaza that aims to provide resources to people in Gaza and start the process of rebuilding. Aljundi prepared umm ali — a bread pudding—, hummus, rosemary bread, citrus salad and more. A prayer room was available for attendees as well.

Additional Information

Returning from iftar, Rieder answered additional audience questions and encouraged people to safely protest the federal policies and actions that they disagree with, explaining that state attorneys general seeing the public support for fighting back against these actions will bolster them to keep pushing against these actions in court. He also encouraged people to contact their government representatives and show up to any town halls.

Resource List

Sponsors and organizers shared several different resources as well as upcoming events and projects:

• Red Cards, which state examples of how to exercise your rights, available in 19 languages, including English, Spanish and Arabic, were available to pick up at the training or print out at the following link: https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas
• Siembra NC, a grassroots organization dedicated to helping the Latine community, has a defense hotline they want people to use if they suspect ICE activity in their community. Siembra will work to verify ICE’s presence and alert the community. The defense hotline is also available for people experiencing workplace issues such as stolen wages. Siembra can support cases involving three or more people through the mobilization of their Labor Rights Committees, and refer callers to resources as well. The defense hotline number is: 336-543-0353
• The Student Justice Network is a collective working to “provide resources, information and education that is free and accessible to all.” Their website is: bit.ly/studentjusticenetwork
• The NCSU Grad Workers Union and UNC Chapel Hill Workers Union are building an anti-war campaign; those interested in joining the effort to build it can reach out to: [email protected] or: [email protected] 
• Triangle DSA, a chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, is launching a campaign called, “No Appetite for Apartheid,” which aims to end the occupation of Palestine, “by putting economic pressure on Israel.” The website to help with their campaign or join the pledge to boycott is: bit.ly/TriangleNA4A
• Raleigh United Mutual Aid Hub is hosting, “Making the Triangle Apartheid-Free: An Educational Event on the BDS Movement,” the RSVP link is: BIT.LY/TNA4A3325