• 08/06/2025

  Sikhs Remain Third-Most Targeted Religious Group

  August 6, 2025 (Washington, DC) — Yesterday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released its annual hate crime statistics report for 2024. 

  The number of anti-Sikh hate incidents reported in calendar year 2024 is a slight reduction from 2023, reflecting the overall decrease (roughly 2 percent) in reported hate crimes across the board. Sikhs, however, do remain the third most-targeted religious group behind the Jewish and Muslim communities, with 153 anti-Sikh victimizations noted in the dataset.

  While the high-level information in this report is important for emphasizing that violent hate continues to pose a persistent challenge to our nation’s communities, it is important to recognize that the picture it paints remains fundamentally incomplete. Unfortunately, thousands of agencies are still reporting zero hate crimes to the FBI within their jurisdiction. In some cases, this could be because of a total lack of bias-motivated crime in their areas—but more likely it reflects a combination of individuals being reluctant to come forward after experiencing hate, a failure by some law enforcement agencies to investigate or prosecute potentially bias-motivated crimes, inaccurate recording within those law enforcement agencies, and other such persistent issues.

  “Sikhs remain under threat from violent hate disproportionate to the size of our population,” said Mannirmal Kaur, Sikh Coalition Senior Federal Policy Manager. “Despite shortcomings in the collection of this data, this new information clearly shows that biased-based violence is still prevalent today—which means that to better protect all of our communities, the first and most basic step is to improve reporting across the country and more fully understand the scope of the problem.”

  The Sikh Coalition continues to advocate for measures like the Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act (IRPHA), a bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. IRPHA would compel local law enforcement agencies to make this dataset more inclusive and provide for additional education around hate crimes and bias incidents for both law enforcement and the general public. We also remain committed to ensuring that the experiences of our and other communities regarding violent hate continue to be a part of the national dialogue on this critical issue. Finally, pro bono support for hate crime survivors remains a core part of our legal work: If you or someone you know has been targeted, reach out to us for help in English or Punjabi.

  As always, the Sikh Coalition urges you to practice your faith fearlessly.

• 06/18/2025

  Updated ‘Know Your Rights’ Resource for Truckers

  June 18, 2025 (Washington, DC) — This week, the Sikh Coalition is publishing several new kinds of updated resources around our “Know Your Rights” information for truckers. 

  This new content builds on our previous trucking “Know Your Rights” information: It still includes information about workplace accommodations and police stops, but now also has material about immigration concerns and the Trump Administration’s new regulations around English language proficiency (ELP). The information is available in several formats:

  As a printable quadfold brochure that includes both English and Punjabi text;
  As printable flyers, in either English or Punjabi, which can be hung at trucking schools, truck stops, gurdwarae, or other locations;
  As a living Google Doc, available in English or Punjabi for easy copying and pasting; and
  As voice notes, which can be found on our website shared via WhatsApp.
  As a reminder, President Trump issued an executive order calling for new regulations around ELP for truckers in April—specifically, calling for roadside inspectors to have the authority to declare truckers “out of service” for an ELP violation. The Department of Transportation (DOT) issued new guidance on when and how to enforce this policy in May. The Sikh Coalition has sent two letters to the DOT on this issue; our most recent outreach focused on specific questions about how the guidance will be enforced. 

  To be clear, we are not opposed to common sense safety reforms—including the obvious fact that all truckers must have basic English language skills to drive safely in the United States. We simply want to ensure that the new executive order does not lead to accidental or intentional discrimination against Sikh and Punjabi drivers. We intend to continue to push for a meeting with DOT civil rights personnel to seek answers to our questions on this matter. 

  In the meantime, if you or anyone you know has been subjected to discrimination (in or out of the workplace) based on your Sikh identity, please contact our legal team for assistance.

  As always, the Sikh Coalition urges you to practice your faith fearlessly.

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