Civil Rights Concerns In the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Area In the Aftermath of the September 11, 2001, Tragedies

The District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia Advisory Committees submit this report, Civil
Rights Concerns in the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Area in the Aftermath of the September 11,
2001, Tragedies, as part of their responsibility to advise the Commission on civil rights issues in
their respective states. The Committees approved this report collectively in a vote of 37 to 1, with no
abstentions. One dissenting statement and the editorial committee’s clarification to this statement
are attached as appendices 1 and 2, respectively.1
The September 11 tragedies perpetrated by terrorists from Middle Eastern countries led to a
surge in hate violence and discrimination against persons of Middle Eastern descent and Muslims,
and by extension, South Asians, Sikhs, and others mistakenly perceived to be part of the Islamic
community living in the United States.
At the same time, the federal government’s nationwide response in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks spurred new national policies, laws, and administrative directives that appeared to
rights advocates as having devastating consequences for civil rights protections for residents and
potential immigrants.