Do you want to help stop intrusive turban searches by the TSA? E-mail Both Your Senators Now!   Call Both Your United States Senators Now!   Other Action You Can Take Sign the Community Petition to the TSA Document Your Airport Pat Down Experience Download the Petition and Ask Sikhs to Sign it at your Gurdwara (English and Punjabi version) (English only version) Sikh Coalition volunteer Preet Singh asks his Senators to support Sikh concerns in this file photo

New York, NY (September 7, 2007): Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), in collaboration with the Sikh Coalition, is asking his Senate colleagues to sign a letter to the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) expressing concern about its new turban search policy.  The Sikh Coalition calls on concerned people to e-mail and call their United States Senators asking them to sign Senator Durbin’s letter.

Senator Durbin’s letter asks the TSA to work with the Sikh community to address its concerns. It also requests an explanation of the new policy and the motivations behind it. With the letter, the TSA will be compelled to respond not just to Sikhs, but to our elected officials who oversee its work.

Please perform a few minutes of sewa (selfless service) by emailing or calling the Senators that you helped elect. You should urge them to sign on to Senator Durbin’s letter and support their Sikh constituents. You don’t have to be a U.S. citizen to lobby your elected officials. All of us are entitled to live in a just America, where our religious liberties are respected.

The community’s overwhelming support for our online petition has already yielded strong results. The Sikh Coalition and other community groups are meeting with TSA officials early next week to continue the dialogue with the TSA. We are also working closely with various Congressional offices to release a similar letter from the U.S. House of Representatives next week. None of this would have been possible without community support for our campaign.

The Sikh Coalition thanks Senator Richard Durbin for his continued support of Sikh American concerns.  Shortly after 9/11, Senator Durbin was the original sponsor of a Senate Resolution that called on law enforcement to protect the Sikh communty from hate crimes.

The Coalition will keep the community updated as our engagement with the TSA deepens. To learn more about the Sikh Coalition’s work on the TSA turban screening issue, click here.