09/30/2026
When the planes hit the twin towers, New York City shut down immediately. Within 24 hours, AALDEF began responding to incidents of hate violence and intense profiling of AMEMSA communities. In the years that followed, the Bush administration weaponized immigration law to target Muslims, from secret detentions and interrogations to mass arrests and roundups.
Twenty five years after 9/11, the politics of fear and scapegoating have not lessened. Muslim, South Asian, and immigrant communities continued to be portrayed as outsiders whenever America experiences economic stress or political uncertainty. But there is another story we should tell. Over these 25 years, our communities have built power, found our voices, and produced a new generation of leaders. The rise of leaders like Zohran Mamdani is an important part of this story. It reminds us that we have to defend our civil rights, hold those in power accountable, and reclaim our own narratives. Because history will judge not only what was done to us, but what we did in response.
— Sin Yen Lee, former AALDEF staff attorney
9/11 is a day I will never forget. I remember being evacuated from the federal building where I worked in Washington, DC. When the 14th Street bridge finally opened in the evening and I returned home, I could see the smoke rising above the Pentagon from my apartment balcony. For weeks afterward, a sense of overwhelm, uncertainty, fear, and loss permeated each moment and every interaction.
Almost immediately, many of us experienced a double grief began as Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and Sikh community members began to share accounts of harassment, dehumanization, and scapegoating. Listservs such as Desis Organizing in NYC included pleas from people searching for their missing friends and coworkers in places like Windows on the World.
In the aftermath of 9/11, I joined many others in my generation to advocate for peace and justice. The picture I’m sharing here is from a press conference held just days after 9/11 at the Japanese American Memorial in DC. Community leaders from diverse faiths and backgrounds came together to stand against hate and discrimination. Surrounded by the names
