The US Congress may soon urge President Donald Trump’s administration to consider imposing sanctions on countries that suppress religious freedom and violate human rights, Republican Congressman Christopher H. Smith suggested during a congressional hearing on Pakistan on Tuesday.
“One of the biggest disappointments — regardless of who is in the White House or at the State Department — is the absence of sanctions,” said Smith, who co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC).
Smith recalled that the only individual ever sanctioned under US religious freedom laws was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the 2002 Gujarat riots. “We are going to call on the Irfa office to consider imposing [sanctions] — especially in light of the terrible acts committed against people of various faiths,” he said.
The Irfa office, based at the State Department, enforces the International Religious Freedom Act, which authorises the US government to designate and penalise countries that engage in or tolerate severe religious persecution.
“That’s it. We’ve got 18 sanctions here, and we are going to impose them on you,” Smith declared during the hearing on Pakistan’s current political and human rights situation.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 16 Jul 2025 20:09
by Rudradev
The problem with US "sanctions" on a non-real country like Pakistan is: the sliver of landowner/military/crony-capitalist "elites" who actually impact policy have ample 2-numberi methods to get around them on a small-favours basis, while the vast majority are and will forever remain too poor to matter whether sanctions are applied or not. In contrast, sanctions on a country like India (with serious policy programs to achieve class-mobility aspirations on a mass scale) will make economic goals harder and slower (though certainly not impossible) to realise.
I think the US knows what sanctions are really for— the undermining of what it sees as potential challengers— and deploys them for this actual purpose, whatever high-minded nonsense it may cite as a pretext.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 16 Jul 2025 22:18
by ramana
True that.
Sanctions authority are GOTUS tools to use carrot and stick on foreign countries usually at the wrong ends.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 16 Jul 2025 22:59
by A_Gupta
Apart from the American use of sanctions as above, I see re-opening of a platform for the 0.5 front to grandstand about “the persecution of minorities”, and “casteism” and “patriarchy” and so on on an American-provided platform, further polarizing the politics in India. The ancient malady of inviting outsiders to meddle in internal affairs of India will get a revival.
If the country remains united in telling the US Congress it is none of their business I would have few concerns.
They have details of only 117th and 116th congresses. 117th is from 2021-2023
(Wikipedia data re-formatted for BRF)
Jim McGovern (D-MA) 2008-2021 - D co-chair
GOP co-chair changed every two years after from 2013.
Executive Committee Members, 117th Congress
Democrats
Alan Lowenthal, California - Jewish Ilhan Omar, Minnesota - Muslim
Jamie Raskin, Maryland - Jewish
Norma Torres, California - Hispanic Caucus, born in Guatemala moved to the US when she was five years old with her uncle. Mom stayed back and died after one year Ms. Torres moving to the US.
After being reelected to the House in November 2022, Torres accused President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador of interfering in her race. Bukele had urged voters to oppose Torres.[9]
Bukele is Mohammedan. His dad was an early convert to Islam in El Salvador who also became Imam and was instrumental in constructing at least two mosques and became the first Mohammedan president of El Salvador.
Republicans
N/A (that is what Wikipedia says. No idea N/A is not available or not applicable
Where does USCIRF fit in to this landscape? My presumption would be that Tom Lantos HRC takes inputs from USCIRF.
Co-chair and four members are appointed each by the Speaker and Minority Leader. Any member of the House can be a member of this commission, they just have to ask the co-chairs.
which can be searched by country. In India's case, they list three people.
Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba: His house was raided in May 2014
Soni Sori and Lingaram Kopodi: Both were imprisoned by on charges of attack on Congress leaders in CG Soni Sori is released (sometime after 2013). Lingaram Kodopi is released. Fifteen others were also imprisoned and probably released now as all of them were charged in the same case.
GN Saibaba is an OGUN.
Only Asian countries are in the list. BD is not in the list. In Central America, Guatemala and Nicaragua, and Russia from Europe (Asia).
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 17 Jul 2025 04:32
by Vayutuvan
The site lists further references
For Further Reference
Full U.S. Department of State Human Rights Country Report
U.S. Department of State International Religious Freedom Country Report U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Annual Report Chapter U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report Country Narrative
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Human Rights Watch World Report Country Chapter Amnesty International Annual Report Country Chapter
Freedom House Freedom in the World Country Report
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 17 Jul 2025 07:20
by chanakyaa
GENIUS Act of 2025
Permitted payment stablecoin issuers shall maintain -- coins and currency, government debt etc. etc.
Post Bretton Woods, currency weaned itself off gold, now a stablecoin, digital numbers, are weaning itself off paper currency.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 17 Jul 2025 09:42
by A_Gupta
The Republican co-chairman of the Tom Lantos HRC, Christopher Smith, has a great passion and that is to end human trafficking. I am not sure that he is known for anything else.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 17 Jul 2025 13:01
by Cyrano
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 17 Jul 2025 17:34
by A_Gupta
"The Internal Revenue Service is building a computer program that would give deportation officers unprecedented access to confidential tax data. - various sources.
"Taxpayer data is among the most confidential in the federal government and is protected by strict privacy laws, which have historically limited its transfer to law enforcement and other government agencies. Unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer return information is a felony that can carry a penalty of up to five years in prison."
"In the past, when law enforcement sought IRS data to support its investigations, agencies would give the IRS the full legal name of the target, an address on file and an explanation of why the information was relevant to a criminal inquiry. Such requests rarely involved more than a dozen people at a time, former IRS officials said."
"In one meeting in late March between senior IRS and DHS officials, a top ICE official made a suggestion: Why doesn’t Homeland Security simply provide the name and state of its targets and have the IRS return the addresses of everyone who matches that criteria?
The IRS lawyers were stunned. They feared they could face criminal liability if they handed over the addresses of individuals who were not under a criminal investigation. The conversation and news of deeper collaboration with ICE so disturbed career staff that it led to a series of departures in late March and early April across the IRS’ legal, IT and privacy offices.
They were “pushing the boundaries of the law,” one official said. “Everyone at IRS felt the same way.”
