Racializing Muslims is not a partisan practice but rather one that is motivated by political gain. It is a shared act that occurs in what appear to be liberal cities like Chicago as well as more conservative cities like Dallas and Fort Worth. The Muslim Americans I interviewed had similar encounters in both cities. Many of the experiences I documented happened under the Obama administration—a Democratic one. Policies on national security that target Muslims have not been radically different under a Democratic president compare to a Republican one. Obama did not eliminate the USA PATRIOT Act or stop the hypersurveillance of Muslims; in fact, the surveillance of Muslims thrived under the Obama administration. … While Trump's rhetoric was overt, the Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton relied on more subtle and nuanced ways to perpetuate the stereotype that Muslims are only understood as a threat to national security. Clinton said in her first presidential debate, "We need to be cooperating with Muslim nations and with the American Muslim community. They're on the frontlines. They can provide information to us that we might not get anywhere else. They need to have close working cooperation with law enforcement in these communities, not be alienated and pushed away." Although this language may seem inclusive, it only presents Muslims in relation to threats of terror.

XREF: Connects to broader discussions of how national security and surveillance policies persist across Democratic and Republican administrations, echoing critiques of the security state that outlast party control.

Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, loc. 474