On June 14th, 2022 CAIR-Chicago’s Outreach Coordinator Gerald Hankerson was one of 300 registered delegates from 20 states that met with more than 200 elected officials and congressional staffers during the seventh annual “National Muslim Advocacy Day" on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Partnered with CAIR chapters and other Muslim groups nationwide, the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) organized the event’s return to the nation’s capital for the first in-person meetings since 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year’s meetings for the Muslim advocacy days resumed virtually in 2021.

The 2022 Muslim delegates supported the following legislative measures:

• HOLD CVE ACCOUNTABLE: Support FY 2023 Appropriations re­quest language seeking stronger transparency requirements for the DHS’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) - the newest iteration of DHS’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) grant initiative, which discriminatorily targeted Muslims in a misguided attempt to identify individuals who might commit acts of terrorism.

• CITIZENSHIP FOR AFGHAN EVACUEES: Co-sponsor the Afghan Adjust­ment Act, supported by Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Sen. Chris Coons, which would allow the tens of thou­sands of Afghan evacuees to apply to become lawful permanent residents one year after arrival.

• CANCEL STUDENT DEBT, ZERO INTEREST LOANS: Support cance­ling all student debt and endorse the American Muslim community’s call for Congress and the White House establish interest-free federal student loans.

• URGE SENATE SUPPORT FOR THE COMBATING INTERNATIONAL ISLAMOPHOBIA ACT (S. 3384): Co-sponsor and urge for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee mark-up and adoption of Senators Cory Booker, Ben Cardin, and Bernie Sanders’ International Combating Islamophobia Act, which would es­tablish a special envoy office at the U.S. State Department to monitor and combat international Islamophobia.