Sikh community leaders deny reports of immigration raids at New York’s Gurdwaras
New York, Jan 28 (IANS) Sikh community leaders have said that there have been no raids on Gurdwaras contradicting reports in some Indian media.
Sukhjinder Singh Nijjar, who was at New York’s Richmond Hill Gurdwara, a major Sikh centre, on Sunday said the prayer services were conducted reverently and there was no interference by anyone.
There were no raids or any law enforcement actions at other Gurdwaras in New York and New Jersey either, said Nijjar who is with the Sikh Cultural Society representing the Coastal Northeast and was the chairman of its public and media committee.
He attributed the misreporting to “some sort of misunderstanding and miscommunication” and “just basically word of mouth type of thing that” gets spread with no basis in fact.
Rajwant Singh, the chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, discounted the reports of the raids or visits to the temples by immigration or other agencies.
The Sikh community in New York and New Jersey has good relations at “all levels of government representatives, including the Justice Department and the White House”, he said.
The community has “contributed immensely to the local life and has helped many people during COVID and the service continues” and that is appreciated, Singh said.
Nijjar said that Gurdwaras have good relations with government agencies and his own temple, for example, holds regular meetings with officials who visit at the Gurdwara’s invitation to discuss community matters.
President Donald Trump’s administration last week withdrew a policy against immigration officers entering churches or schools to make arrests.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said, “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest”.
Although it mentioned only churches – which has been condemned by Christian organisations – other religions have also expressed concern over its broader ramifications.
The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), like many other religious and civil rights organisations, has condemned the policy change.
Expressing deep alarm over the change, SALDEF Executive Director Kiran Kaur Gill, said, “Targeting these spaces for enforcement actions threatens the sanctity of our faith and sends a chilling message to immigrant communities nationwide”.
However, US officials have not conducted raids at churches or other places of worship under the new policy.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency that carries out raids, did not mention in its press releases any weekend raids in New York and New Jersey.
–IANS
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