Isn't It Time?

The following is from Congressman Rush Holt's newsletter:

For nearly a decade, the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) so-called “Demographics Unit” conducted wide-scale warrantless spying on Muslims, including at mosques, student associations, and businesses in New York City and even in other states, including New Jersey.  The NYPD targeted people based solely on their religious affiliation, without any reason to believe they were guilty of any crime.

By every metric, the Demographics Unit was a failure. The NYPD acknowledged that it never generated a lead in a criminal or terrorist investigation, and Muslim citizens have told me they felt the chilling effect of being singled out for suspicion by their own government. I have long fought to end this NYPD overreach, including by introducing a congressional resolution to condemn these illicit tactics.

This week brought good and long-overdue news: the NYPD is formally disbanding the Demographics Unit and ceasing its spying on our innocent neighbors.

The best conclusion to draw from the NYPD’s experience is that suspicionless surveillance doesn’t work; it squanders limited law enforcement resources on investigating the innocent; and it destroys the fundamental principle that the government must not treat any person as less than a full citizen above suspicion unless there is a probable cause.  The same conclusion can be applied to the on-going NSA surveillance of Americans.

Upcoming Office Hours in Your Community

Are you having any troubles with the Social Security Administration, the VA, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or any other federal agency?  Or would you like to learn about applying for federal grants or acquiring flags flown over the U.S. Capitol?

If so, I hope you will drop by my upcoming Community Office Hours, where I or a member of my staff will be glad to help.  In the next few weeks, we will be in Middlesex, Trenton, and Old Bridge, and many more events are scheduled soon.  A full schedule is available atholt.house.gov/officehours.

Honoring Significant Milestones

Recently, I heard from constituents in Trenton and in Plainsboro who hoped to surprise their mothers with notes from the President in honor of their 100th birthdays. On their behalf, I reached out to the White House, and the President sent very warm letters of congratulations to each of them.

If you are celebrating a special occasion, I will be glad to request a presidential greeting on your behalf. Generally, the President may send congratulations to U.S. citizens for weddings, births, adoptions, Eagle Scout or Girl Scout Gold Awards, Bar or Bat Mitzvahs, 50th and subsequent anniversaries, and 80th and subsequent birthdays. For further details or assistance, please contact my Staff Assistant, Ms. Wilsar Johnson at 202-225-5801 orwilsar.johnson@mail.house.gov.

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress