Iranian-Americans
Reportedly Detained, Asked About Political
Views at US Border
"Deeply disturbed by reports that
Iranian-Americans, including U.S. citizens,
are being detained at the Canadian border
with WA State," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
By Jake Johnson
January 05, 2020 "Information
Clearing House"
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Reports that
dozens of Iranian-Americans were
detained at the U.S.-Canada border on
Saturday and questioned about their "political
views and allegiances" were met with
alarm by lawmakers and rights groups,
particularly given the soaring military
tensions between Iran and the U.S.
brought on by the Trump administration.
On Sunday, the Washington state chapter of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
said it is "assisting more than 60
Iranians and Iranian-Americans of all ages
who were detained at length and questioned
at the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine,
Wash."
Those detained, according to CAIR, were
returning from an Iranian pop concert that
took place Saturday in Vancouver, Canada.
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CAIR, citing an anonymous source from
Customs and Border Protection (CBP), alleged
that "the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) has issued a national order to CBP to
'report' and detain anyone with Iranian
heritage entering the country who is deemed
potentially suspicious or 'adversarial,'
regardless of citizenship status."
An individual CAIR identified as Crystal,
a 24-year-old American citizen and medical
student, said she was detained and
interrogated for more than 10 hours at the
Washington-Canada border before her release
Sunday morning.
"The vast majority of people being held
last night were American citizens," Crystal
said. "We kept asking why we were being
detained and asked questions that had
nothing to do with our reason for traveling
and was told 'I'm sorry this is just the
wrong time for you guys.'"
Masih Fouladi, executive director of CAIR-WA,
said in a statement that the reports of
detentions are "extremely troubling and
potentially constitute illegal detentions of
United States citizens."
"We are working to verify reports of a
broad nationwide directive to detain
Iranian-Americans at ports of entry so that
we can provide community members with
accurate travel guidance," said Fouladi. "We
will continue to update the community and
other civil rights organizations as we
obtain more information."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington
Democrat, tweeted that she is "deeply
disturbed" by the reports, which come amid
soaring military tensions between the U.S.
and Iran following the Trump
administration's assassination of Iranian
General Qasem Soleimani.
The National Iranian-American Council (NIAC)
said it is also "hearing credible reports of
detentions at U.S. borders, both of
Iranian-Americans and permanent residents."
"We are working to independently verify,
coordinating with lawmakers and allies," the
group said.
"First they ban us. Then they starve our
families via sanctions. Then they threaten
our cultural heritage sites with bombs,"
tweeted
NIAC organizing director Donna Farvard. "Now
they're detaining us at the border."
This article was originally published by
"Common
Dreams"
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