Coalition Seeks Action on Shared Data on Arab-Americans.
Troubled by the recent public disclosure that the Census Bureau provided demographic data on Arab-Americans to the Department of Homeland Security, a coalition of ethnic advocacy groups, privacy watchdogs and civil rights and civil liberties organizations is demanding further response from both government agencies. A letter of complaint, drafted by the Arab American Institute Foundation and signed by more than 50 organizations and people, was sent to the Census Bureau on Thursday. The statement questioned the bureau's "judgment and discretion" in cooperating with domestic security officials and called for the bureau to announce a "plan of action" to address public concerns. In late July, results of a Freedom of Information Act request by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research group based in Washington, showed that the Census Bureau had provided Customs and Border Protection with two specially tabulated population tables on Arab-Americans. One included detailed breakdowns of people of various Arab ethnicities in specific ZIP codes. [more 
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