Hammad Arsalan Alam

Hosted by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus
Sponsored by Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Service location San Francisco, California
Law school University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Issue area Children/Youth
Fellowship class year 2018
Program Design Your Own Fellowship

The Project

Hammad provided legal support and engaged in policy advocacy and outreach for Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) students and families who were victims of school bullying in San Bernardino County and the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

Hammad’s project provided critically needed representation to AMEMSA students suffering from bullying, harassment, discrimination, and profiling across schools in San Bernardino County and the San Francisco Bay Area, California, as well as other parts of the state.

Fellowship Highlights

Over the two-year Fellowship period, Hammad:

Conducted outreach to over 700 AMEMSA students and parents across San Bernardino County and the San Francisco Bay Area, carrying out Know Your Rights workshops, providing advice and counsel regarding school bullying and other education issues, and creating spaces for solidarity and healing
Represented AMEMSA and other Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (“AANHPI”) students by filing uniform complaints, pursuing California Department of Education appeals, and working with schools and districts to address systemic issues through collaborative and community-based solutions
Built, led, and participated in coalitions to address students’ rights issues, including a statewide campaign that successfully advocated for the rejection of state funding for a campus policing and surveillance program with a disproportionate impact on AMEMSA, Black, and immigrant students
Co-authored amicus brief to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Alasaad v. Wolf, highlighting stories of impact amongst AMEMSA community members to unwarranted searches and seizures of electronic devices in violation of the Fourth Amendment, and the disproportionate impact of such government policies and practices on AMEMSA

What’s Next?

Hammad will continue his work for AMEMSA communities at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus as a staff attorney in its National Security and Civil Rights program. He will protect AMEMSA students and youth from harmful policies impacting them, while expanding his work to address harmful government policies justified under the guise of national security, including protecting AMEMSA communities from surveillance, criminalization, and state violence.