Dear John,
For years, broad sanctions on Iran have spilled over into discrimination against the civil rights of Iranian Americans — with one of the most egregious examples being discriminatory bank account closures.
Just last month, it was revealed that one bank has frozen or closed the bank accounts of over 15,000 Iranian Americans. But despite the scale of this challenge our ongoing fight against banking discrimination is making significant headway.
Today, two of our biggest champions in Congress, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN), sent a letter [[link removed]] to the Biden administration with concrete proposals to stop banks from closing the accounts of Iranian Americans and other immigrant communities.
Over the years, we’ve heard complaints from countless members of our community - including students, green card holders, and long-term U.S. citizens - that banks shuttered their accounts with little or no warning. This is due to an over-enforcement of U.S. sanctions on Iran, where banks are so afraid of big fines that they discriminate against ordinary people here in the United States. As we now know from a lawsuit we supported against Bank of America, these unjust account closures have impacted tens of thousands of individuals of Iranian heritage.
Being cut off from your money because you are Iranian is just plain wrong, which is why we have been working with both lawmakers - like Sen. Warren and Rep. Omar - and U.S. officials alike to implement new changes to protect our community and defend our right to fair treatment by banks.
>> Read the Omar-Warren Letter [[link removed]]
>> Donate to support efforts to stop banking discrimination against Iranian Americans [[link removed]]
With the Biden administration focusing on steps to ensure banking access for immigrant communities, we believe the Warren-Omar letter is an important step at an important time that will encourage action to safeguard our community’s rights.
Best,
Jamal Abdi President, NIAC[[link removed]]
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