Weekly Wrap Up
SALDEF in the News
The short life and long journey of the 6-year-old girl from India who died near the US-Mexico border
A six-year-old Sikh girl, Gurupreet Kaur was found dead by U.S. Border Patrol agents in a remote desert outside the Lukeville, Arizona point of entry on Wednesday, June 12th. This Monday, Gurupreet’s parents spoke out for the first time since her death, saying they’d made the trek because they felt they had no other choice. On the increase in people from South Asia attempting to cross the border, SALDEF’s Media and Communications Director, Gujari Singh commented ‘”Each case has been slightly different. There doesn’t seem to be one exact cause. … There is definitely some sort of movement, but we’re not really sure why.”’
Supreme Court Puts Citizenship Question on Hold in Census Case; Indian American Activist Groups Celebrate Decision
The article includes that SALDEF’s Executive Director, Kiran Kaur Gill expressed jubilation at The Supreme Court’s decision to put a hold on the Trump administration’s effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. Most Democratic populous states raised concern that the question “would discourage legal and illegal immigrants from responding and make the population countless accurate”. The court justified their decision by explaining that the government has the right to ask a citizenship question, but that it needs to properly justify its reason for the change.
Recent Events
Sikh parade is one of celebration, education and restoration
Over 1500 individuals attended the 13th annual Sikh Day Parade Salem’s Dasmesh Darbar Sikh Temple in Ohio. The parade included red, pink and orange rose petals floating down upon the crowd, floats, and Sikh martial arts performances to commemorate Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji Sahib’s Martyrdom Day.
Democrats’ new faith outreach director launches ‘listening sessions
The Democratic Party’s new religious outreach director launched a round of listening sessions with faith leaders in the lead-up to the 2020 election. At the second discussion, representatives of Islam, Sikhism, Coptic Christianity, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other faiths dialogued with Democratic Party Chairman Tom Perez in New York. During the discussion, Perez did not respond to RNS columnist Simran Jeet Singh’s comments directly but offered a response after they finished, saying party officials would continue “engaging with faith leaders and work to create a safe space” for diverse religious voices.
How a rural Oklahoma truck stop became a destination for Sikh Punjabis crossing America
Truck Stop 40, on the outskirts of Sayre, Okla is one of the biggest and best-known truck stops in the region. At this stop, Harpreet and Raj Choker maintain a 24-hour vegetarian Punjabi restaurant, mechanic stop, gas station, and a Sikh temple housed in a trailer.
Upcoming Events
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