Discrimination is a significant anxiety for the Iranian American community. More than three-quarters (78%) of Iranian Americans express concern about increased discrimination, citing political rhetoric and policies directed at immigrants, Muslims, and Iranians as well as heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. Unfortunately, discrimination has consistently remained a top concern of Iranian Americans over the past five years. Iranian Americans are not just fearful of discrimination but an increasing percentage of the community (60%) has also directly experienced discrimination or knows Iranian Americans who have been subjected to discriminatory threats or treatment because of their ethnicity or country of origin.

PAAIA has worked tirelessly with civic leaders and members of Congress to uphold the civil liberties and civil rights of Iranian Americans and condemn bigotry, violence, and discrimination. In the 116th Congress, PAAIA supported the introduction of a bipartisan, bicameral resolutions, H.Res.1008 and S.Res.626, to uphold the civil liberties of Iranian Americans, recognizing that discrimination has long been endured by Iranian Americans and urging greater acceptance and protections of the community. The resolution was in response to rising concerns of discrimination impacting the community – including the detention of hundreds of Americans of Iranian heritage based solely on their ethnicity and national origin by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Washington State border in January 2020.