Written by Don ByrdToday the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty joined more than 120 national, state and local organizations in calling on the Department of Justice to open an investigation into possible improper surveillance practices of the New York Police Department. In a letter to the heads of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, the groups argue that ten years of religious profiling and improper monitoring directed at New York’s Muslim communities jeopardize their civil rights.
Written by Don ByrdAssociated Press continues to make news in its investigation of the New York Police Department’s religious profiling practices. AP previously revealed the NYPD was conducting surveillance activities of and keeping files on mosques in New Jersey. A lawsuit was filed and the Department subsequently announced the end of that program.
Yesterday, AP reported the NYPD has “secretly labeled entire mosques as terrorist organizations” to allow the use of informants and surreptitious recordings.
Written by Don ByrdA new lawsuit was filed challenging surveillance of Muslim communities by the New York Police Department. The ACLU charges the program amounts to unconstitutional religious profiling that “imposed an unwarranted badge of suspicion and stigma on law-abiding Muslim New Yorkers.”
Written by Don ByrdIn response to the IRS scandal over politically motivated tax audits, an Ohio Congressman is proposing a new law that would criminalize such behavior. Rep. Mike Turner’s (R-OH) legislation would make a felony any IRS discrimination on the basis of religious or political viewpoints or expressions.
Written by Don ByrdIn a statement released today, signed by the Baptist Joint Committee’s Brent Walker, religious liberty advocates urge Congress to ban religious profiling by law enforcement in immigration legislation currently being debated in the U.S. Senate. Here is an excerpt
