US BORDER
US Customs & Border Protection received new, nationwide notice to “report” and detain
“suspicious” Iranians entering the country regardless of citizenship or immigration status
(SEATTLE, WA, 01/05/20) - On Saturday, more than sixty Iranians and Iranian-Americans of all
ages were detained at length and questioned at the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine,
Washington. Many more were turned around at the border and refused the opportunity to enter
the United States due to a lack of capacity for Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to detain them.
CBP will not respond to questions if there are still any Iranian-Americans being currently
detained.
Many more Iranian Americans are set to cross the Peace Arch Border this morning as they
return back to their homes in the United States from an Iranian pop concert that was taking
place on Saturday in Vancouver, Canada.
Those detained reported that their passports were confiscated as they were questioned about
their political views, allegiances, what courses were studied in college, and other invasive and
interrogative questions. CBP contacted at the Blaine Port of Entry provided no comment or
reasons for the detentions.
Crystal, a 24 year old American citizen and medical student, was detained and interrogated for
more than 10 hours with her family at the Peace Arch Border Crossing before being released
early this morning. “The vast majority of people being held last night were American citizens,
said Crystal. “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.’”
A source at CBP reported 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. CBP at the Peace Arch Border Crossing did not confirm or deny this report.
“These reports are extremely troubling and potentially constitute illegal detentions of United
States citizens,” said Masih Fouladi, Executive Director of CAIR Washington. “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. We will continue to
update the community and other civil rights organizations as we obtain more information”
“This clear, gross violation of US law acts only as a further escalation of continued violence and
aggression toward Iran and Iranian people that have only escalated with Trump’s Travel Ban on
Iranian nationals, the withdrawal from the JCPOA/Iran Nuclear Deal despite Iran’s compliance,
the addition of crippling US sanctions on Iran which have taken a deep toll on the lives of
everyday Iranians, and most recently the reckless assasination of Iranian top military general
Qasem Soleimani.” said Hoda Katebi, Iranian-American writer and activist.
No comments:
Post a Comment