Washington DC, December 19, 2002. On November 11, 2002, a NIAC delegation met with key members of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims to convey the viewpoints of the Iranian American community on pending and recently passed legislation. NIAC also took the opportunity to educate the lawmakers on the character of the Iranian-American community and their potential as an influential voting block.

NIAC made the presence and interests of the Iranian-American community known to both Republican and Democratic representatives on Capitol Hill. NIAC representatives Sean Murphy, Ali Sharifpour and Nazak Nikakhtar visited the offices of key Democratic and Republican members of Congress seated on the House International Relations Committee, the Committee on the Judiciary, the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims, and the predicted Chairman of the Immigration subcommittee.

The purpose of the meeting was to enhance America’s understanding of diversity by educating legislators about the impact of certain laws on Iranian-American citizens. NIAC expressed the increasing concern among Iranian-Americans about the surge of anti-Iranian immigration legislation that has dominated Congress since September 11, 2001. The delegation also discussed the discriminatory effect of such legislation and sought guarantees from the lawmakers that Iranian-American concerns will be taken into consideration.

Collective Participation in the American Political Process

Among NIAC’s principal topics was the Iranian-American community’s participation in American politics. The Iranian-American community has been regionally organized in almost every major city across the United States. Regional Iranian-American organizations include local professional associations, community groups and political lobbying organizations. Yet, because the community has been dispersed across the United States, its national influence has been sparse.

However, NIAC explained that the community’s local influence is substantial, as Iranian-Americans influence industries, shape communities and drive local politics. Moreover, NIAC is encouraging the nationwide collaboration of Iranian-American organizations by providing resource sharing opportunities. This means that Iranian-Americans will be watching lawmakers closely, listening intently and acting collectively to shape and influence the decision-making processes that affect their rights as American citizens.

Legislation Restricting Non-Immigrant Visas to Iranian Nationals

NIAC also voiced the Iranian American community’s concern about the recent surge of legislation that restricts issuance of visas to Iranian nationals. NIAC and legislative representatives discussed the viability of HR 5013, the Securing America’s Future through Enforcement Reform Act of 2002, a bill introduced by Rep. George W. Gekas (former chairman of the Immigration subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee) on June 25, 2002.

The stated purpose of this bill was to “amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to bar the admission and facilitate the removal, of alien terrorists and their supporters, in order to secure U.S. borders against terrorists [and] drug traffickers,” and to restrict visas issued to aliens from countries that have been identified by the Department of State as sponsors of terrorism: Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Syria and Sudan. Section 811 of the bill provided a blanket ban on the legal immigration of Iranians by eliminating the eligibility of adult siblings, adult children of U.S. citizens and adult unmarried children of legal permanent residents from obtaining visas. The bill also threatened to end the diversity visa program, which reserves 55,000 slots a year for winners of a visa lottery.

Although HR 5013 disappeared from the House floor upon Rep. Gekas’ failure to be reelected in the November 2002 elections, the bill enjoyed substantial support in Congress from 44 co-sponsors while in existence. The bill was mainly initiated as a campaign tactic to rally votes for its sponsoring Congressional incumbents, and NIAC learned that it is unlikely to be reintroduced to the 108th Congress.

NIAC discussed other legislative efforts that targeted Iranians and the Iranian-American community, specifically HR 3525, a law that severely limits the ability of Iranian nationals to obtain U.S. visas. The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2001, introduced by Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner, enjoyed popular legislative support and was unanimously supported by the House of Representatives.

The bill was signed into law by President Geroge W. Bush on April 18, 2002. Importantly, section 306 of the Act proscribes issuance of a nonimmigrant visa to an alien from a country designated as a state-sponsor of terrorism, unless it is determined that the alien does not pose a threat to the safety of Americans or the national security of the United States. In other words, Iranian nationals are automatically assumed to be a national security threat and are denied visas.

However, only if the Secretary of State and the Attorney General subsequently determine that the specific alien poses no safety or national security threat to the United States, they may waive the denial. The legislative history of HR 3525 is particularly alarming because it reveals that before the bill was passed into law, many members of Congress advocated a complete ban on visas to Iranians, without the waiver clause of Section 306.

According to NIAC’s independent survey [‘studies’ is too vague], 99% of Iranian-Americans are against a blanket ban on visas to Iranians, such as the ban outlined in section 811 of HR 5013. NIAC explained that the Iranian-American community is apprehensive about the growth of anti-Iranian legislation that prevents Iranian-Americans from continuing ties with their Iranian relatives who visit them from Iran.

The delegation also presented several research studies which found that targeting a specific nationality adversely affects that resident community’s sense of belonging to society. NIAC noted that legislation against Iranians attaches to the Iranian-American community the stigma of discrimination by creating false stereotypes about Iranians as terrorists, fanatics and traitors. Such stereotypes become difficult to erase, especially when the discriminatory legislation receives bipartisan support and is enacted into law.

According to an award winning publication in the UCLA Law Review, immigration legislation that discriminates against a particular ethnic group also encourages violence against the targeted group.[1] A sociological study sponsored by Wesleyan University suggests that the sense of community felt by Iranian-Americans depends largely on the treatment of Iranians in the United States.[2] When negative images of Iranians dominate the minds of the American public, such images are imposed on Iranian-Americans and hinder their social integration. As a result, legislators sponsoring anti-Iranian laws are likely to witness public dissent from the Iranian-American community.

A Successful Community

NIAC’s visit also enabled the Iranian-American community to describe itself by its own actions and on its own terms. NIAC presented statistical data about the immigrant Iranian-American community obtained from the 1990 Census. If actions speak louder than words, legislators received a powerful display of Iranian success in the United States.

Evidence of Iranian-American accomplishments thrive in these statistics. According to the 1990 Census report, the mean family income of Iranian-American families was $55,501, substantially above the national average of $35,000. Forty-six percent of Iranian-Americans earned graduate and post-graduate degrees, and Iranian-Americans possess six times as many doctoral degrees than Americans.

Forty-three percent are professionals or hold managerial positions, 35% are in technical and administrative positions and 10% are in other service sectors. Ninety-two percent are homeowners. Forty-eight percent of Iranian-Americans are dual income earners and 22% own their own businesses. Finally, according to Dr. Mohammad Khorami[3] Iranian-Americans are founders of 280 major national firms, CEOs of more than 400 national companies and have contributed over $400 billion to the American economy. These figures have likely increased substantially during the past 12 years.

Each striking statistic reflects the dynamic social power of the Iranian-American community. By illustrating the importance of Iranian immigration from this perspective, NIAC reminded political representatives that Iranian-Americans are important to America and can wield a powerful political influence.

[1] Gabriel Chin, Segratation’s Last Stronghold: Race Discrimination and the Constitutional Law of Immigration, 46 UCLA L. Rev. 1, 48-49 (1998).

[2] Ali Akbar Hahdi, Ethnic Identity Among Second-Generation Iranians in the United States, 31 Iranian Studies 77, 81 (1998).

[3] Professor Khorami is a professor of Persian Literature and Language at New York University.