Dozens of Civil Society Organizations Demand Federal Investigation Into Israeli Campaign Targeting Americans
Today NIAC led 30+ organizations in demanding the Biden administration call for an investigation and accountability into covert Israeli influence operations targeting Americans.
Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Lead Against Banking Discrimination
For years, Iranian Americans, Iranian nationals and other minority groups have been discriminated against by U.S. financial institutions who close or restrict their accounts with little to no warning. This process, which is done in an apparent overcompliance with broad sanctions on Iran, is known as “de-risking.” These incidents have been well documented, with closures […]
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions on Travel Ban to Iran
What does the travel ban bill do? Could it actually pass? If passed into law, would it block you from traveling to Iran? NIAC answers all of these questions and more in our FAQ memo.
Legislative Outlook: Irresponsible Votes This Week on Iran Bills
We are deeply concerned by the legislative theater planned by the Republican Majority concerning U.S. policy toward Iran. This weekend, we saw the consequences of reckless militarism in the Middle East when Iran launched a massive volley of drones and missiles against Israel to retaliate for Israel’s April 1 bombing of its diplomatic compound in […]
The Iranian Sanctions Enforcement Act Risks Supercharging Tensions with Iran
The innocuously-named “Iranian Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2023” (H.R. 6201/S. 3197) seeks to significantly increase U.S. interdictions of Iranian shipping vessels to enforce unilateral U.S. sanctions, a highly escalatory proposition that risks heightening tensions and inviting Iranian reprisals. The push is particularly unwise in the current context of regional hostilities that have spilled across the […]
MENA Category in the U.S. Census – Memo
The U.S. government has never had a category in its census and other government forms that truly reflects the Iranian-American community, and Middle Eastern/North African communities more broadly. However, as of March 18, 2024, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced that the next U.S. Census in 2030 will officially include Middle Eastern and […]
California MENA Inclusion Act – Bill Explainer
The State of California is incredibly diverse, and home to a plethora of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) communities, including the largest population of Iranian Americans. The 2020 Census indicated that Iranians represented 34% of the MENA population, or the largest sub-group of individuals with MENA heritage. However, neither the federal government nor the […]
Shen v. Simpson – Florida Land Law Explainer
A deluge of “alien land laws” have recently been proposed in state legislatures and the U.S. Congress seeking to ban or restrict the purchase of certain property for people if they were born in or hold citizenship from a country whose government has been deemed hostile to the U.S. NIAC, along with the American Civil […]
Discriminatory Florida Law Bars University Offers to Iranian Nationals
Apart from the bureaucratic complexities that professors in Florida now face, it is the students who remain in the most uncertainty as life-changing opportunities are being stripped away from them. This law is one of many broad-based discriminatory measures strategically guised as maintaining national security that have begun cropping up at the state level.
What is S.Res. 504? – Sanders Resolution to Hold U.S. and Israel Accountable
The Significance of the Resolution Senator Bernie Sanders’ introduction of a resolution under Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act marks a historic and significant step towards scrutinizing and curtailing U.S. military support for any war crimes being conducted by Israel. This move can finally force our government to evaluate whether Israel is upholding the […]
Memo: Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties – 4 years after Iranian Detainments
Summary of Events In the early morning of January 5, 2020, reports began to emerge that dozens of individuals of Iranian heritage – including U.S. citizens – were being detained upon reentry into the United States at the Peace Arch border crossing in Blaine, Washington. Coming shortly after the U.S. assassination of Iranian general Qassem […]
Iranian Visa Processing One Year After the “Woman, Life, Freedom” Protests
President Biden inherited a Muslim ban from his predecessor, and promptly rescinded it on Day One of his administration. However, the U.S. State Department’s visa and refugee processing was slow to recover, which was further inhibited by the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the importance of ensuring that Iranians at risk can […]