Faiza Patel
Published September 8, 2014
Updated July 21, 2021

Faiza Patel is the co-director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, which seeks to ensure U.S. counterterrorism laws and policies respect human rights and freedoms. Her portfolio includes projects on social media surveillance by police, schools and governments, policing and technology, and secret law.

Patel has testified before Congress opposing the dragnet surveillance of Muslims, organized advocacy efforts against state laws designed to incite fear of Islam, and developed legislation creating an independent inspector general for the New York Police Department.

She is a frequent commentator on national security and counterterrorism issues for media outlets such as the New York TimesWashington PostEconomistGuardian, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, NPR, New York Daily News and National Law Journal.

Pronouns: She/her

Expertise: Civil liberties, Islam in America, counterterrorism laws, national security, social media surveillance, policing

Location: New York, N.Y.

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