New SAFE Act Will Safeguard Against Surveillance Abuses, Protect Privacy and Civil Liberty: Asian American Organization

The Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act is a new bipartisan bill introduced by Senators Dick Durbin and Mike Lee.

This bill aims to safeguard against surveillance abuses while including the necessary provisions required to gather the foreign intelligence used to protect the United States.

“Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) has relentlessly called attention to the blatant abuses of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that often ensnare Asian American immigrants and citizens in unnecessary surveillance because they have family, friend, and business associates living internationally — making them prime targets for spying by the U.S. government. We applaud Senator Durbin, Senator Lee, and the other members of Congress who brought forth this bipartisan legislation,” said John C. Yang, president and executive director of AAJC.

According to AAJC, the SAFE Act will protect national security by reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act but it adds key provisions that protect American’s privacy and civil liberties and stops government abuses.

“The looming April 19th deadline for reauthorizing FISA Section 702 makes the bipartisan SAFE Act a timely and essential compromise bill that will protect everyone in America from surveillance abuses,” said Joanna YangQing Derman, Director, Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights and National Security at AAJC.

“If passed, the SAFE Act will allow Asian Americans to breathe a little easier knowing they will not be the subject of the more than 500 warrantless searches that occur on Americans every day under the Section 702 status quo.”