INS REGULATIONS OPPOSED: Jan. 13: The American Civil Liberties Union called for a campaign to oppose the new immigration rules.

AMENDMENT TO PROTECT 9/11 VICTIMS: Feb.: An amendment to the Appro-priations Bill pending before the Senate, sponsored by Senators Jon S. Corzine and Hillary R. Clinton in their effort to protect the families of victims of the 9-11 disaster, was passed.

FBI DIRECTOR MEETS LEADERS: Feb. 28: Robert S. Mueller met with key leaders to build on discussions on issues ranging from vigilante attacks and other hate crimes.

Harpreet Singh Toor, right, president of the Sikh Cultural Society, Richmond Hill Gurdwara, tying the turban on chairman of National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) William Denis Fugazy at the NECO headquarters in New York on April 17.

BAN ON RACIAL PROFILING: March 13: The N.J. State Legislature passed a bill making it a crime for the police to use race as the primary factor in determining whom to stop and search.

WILSON AGAINST BIAS: March 19: Rep. Joe Wilson made a strong plea at the House of Representatives that the Sikh community should be protected against racial discrimination.

NECO CHAIRMAN MEETS SIKHS: April 17: In an act of expressing solidarity with the Sikh-American community, William Denis Fugazy, chairman of National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO), hosted a meeting with members of the community at his office in N.Y.

REASSURANCE FOR MINORITIES: April 22: U.S. Attorney for Arizona Paul Charlton met with leaders of minority communities to assure them that incidents of hate crimes will be prosecuted by the state.

PATRIOT ACT OPPOSED: April 26: The National Coalition to Repeal the USA Patriot Act held a board meeting in Brooklyn to discuss strategies as to how the “opponents of the Patriot Act and the defenders of the Bill of Rights” can move this “crucial work forward.”

IACPA PETITIONS CONGRESS: June: Following hate crime attack on Saurabh Bhalerao of North Darmouth, Mass., on June 25, the Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA) urged Congress to pass the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (S. 966).

LETTER FOR 9/11 FAMILY: July 14: Rep. Rush Holt sent a letter to Rep. John Hostettler, chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, asking him to schedule a meeting and favorable mark-up of H.R. 867, a bill that would grant green cards to the family of 9/11 victim Waqar Hasan.

TOWN HALL MEETING: Immigrants at the Town Hall meeting in Queens, N.Y., to discuss their experiences in post-Sept. 11 America.

‘COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP TEACH-IN’: May 22: ‘We Are All Brooklyn,’ a coalition of several organizations of the Borough of Brooklyn in NYC organized a ‘Community Leadership Teach-in on Hate Crimes’ at the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 41 SIGNED, Sept. 17: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed Executive Order 41 which binds city officials in a ‘don’t tell’ policy for a host of confidential information including immigration status.

(Compiled from the pages of News India-Times by Nishant Arora)