[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 125]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         VIOLENCE AGAINST SIKHS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support and stand with the 
Sikh community in the San Joaquin Valley.
  In the past 2 weeks, two Sikh men have been brutally attacked and, 
very sadly, one of them was killed. He lost his life. The Fresno City 
Police Department has labeled these two crimes as potential hate 
crimes.
  Amrik Singh Bal was attacked in the middle of the street while 
waiting for a ride so he could go to work, as any average American 
would do throughout our country. Gurcharan Singh Gill was killed while 
working at a local convenience store. Both tragic incidents took place 
in my district. My thoughts and prayers are with Amrik and his family, 
and my deepest sympathy and condolences go to the Gurcharan family for 
the loss.
  The attacks on these innocent American citizens are really an attack 
on all American citizens who choose to practice their religion and 
observe their cultural heritage, as Americans do throughout our land.
  Sadly, since September 11, 2001, the Sikh community has endured 
discrimination because of a lack of understanding of Sikhism, which is 
based on equality and love. They are not alone.
  As a nation of immigrants, we must remember, we have an opportunity 
to learn and benefit from the thousands of different cultures that are 
part of the mosaic of what makes America great. After all, we are a 
nation of immigrants, both past and present, and we must never ever 
forget that.
  Today, in Fresno, in spirit, we are all part of the Sikh community as 
we mourn these tragic incidents. Every American citizen, regardless of 
race, creed, or gender has the right to live free of fear and 
discrimination.
  I commend Chief Dyer and the Fresno City Police Department for 
working diligently to find the individual or individuals who killed 
Gurcharan and for continuing to look for the other individuals who are 
responsible for the attack on Amrik.
  I continue to urge the FBI and the U.S. Attorney General's office to 
work, as they have been, in making this investigation inquiry resolve 
itself, solving these very sad crimes that we think were based on hate 
and is truly an unfair and discriminatory situation that occurred in 
the last 2 weeks.

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