http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/02/25/muhammad-alis-son-detained-under-trump-immigration-ban.html
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/family-may-sue-after-muhammad-ali-jr.-detained-at-airport/article/2615751
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/muhammad-alis-son-illegally-detained-at-fort-lauderdale-hollywood-international-airport-attorney-says-9164544
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2017/02/24/muhammad-ali-jr-detained-immigration-fla-airport/98376180/
Awful.
I’m having trouble understanding how things like this keep happening.
I find it very hard to believe that CBP couldn’t just look in their database and know exactly who they were dealing with. The religion/name of a USA citizen with no criminal record should not be a subject of questioning. We already had the story of the NASA scientist. I’m sure they are not the only ones, just ones willing to be vocal about it. An overreach and abuse of power.
“I’m having trouble understanding how things like this keep happening.”
I’m really not and I fear it’s going to become worse before it gets better.
Ben Gurion knows how to do security.
doschicos is correct. The woman in the linked article is not a U.S. citizen but it doesn’t excuse the treatment she received.
Meanwhile, someone like Richard Reid (The shoe bomber) would have strolled right in, under the oblivious eyes of these CBP goons. If it’s counter-terrorism they’re pretending to do, they’re doing it wrong.
@doschicos-- you got me. That was a rhetorical flourish. I am pretty clear on why these things are happening.
This is beyond disgusting…
I hope the ACLU weighs in on this.
I read that article a few days. The funniest part, assuming it’s true, is them asking Muhammad Ali Jr. “Where’d you get that name?”
Unrelated to the current administration, I’ve seen a few articles that CBP is a bit of an anything-goes agency. They don’t seem to do much in the way of enforcing standards and discipline with their officers even in the face of things the general public and regular police organizations might find outrageous.
Last I checked, CBP isn’t Congres and an interrogation isn’t a law.
And then there was this: http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/international-scholar-visiting-texas-a-m-mistakenly-detained-by-customs/article_b4153a96-fad7-11e6-8c7d-bb567fe94e17.html#.WLHO8UVwHXA.twitter
Familiarize yourself with your rights at an airport as outlined by the ACLU. If you have friends/family that you think may be a target, for whatever reason, please ask them to familiarize themselves with their rights. An informed populace is beneficial to fight such overreaching of authority. The website has useful info on all types of different scenarios besides airports.
Subsequent court rulings have extended the applicability of the establishment clause to all government agents whether congress, civil service, or law enforcement agents with a few exceptions.
And considering how there’s a high probability the CBP agents may have been influenced to profile on the basis of religion by noticing Ali had a name commonly used in Arabic/Muslim majority nations without having any demonstrated probable cause of his having committed a crime/customs violation or suspicion of such, this incident demonstrates that there needs to be more safeguards in place to reduce the possibility of this religious profiling and effective violation of a citizen’s rights to practice his/her religion or even have a name associated with a religion without being unduly hassled by LEO agents for it.
I accidentally made it onto an international flight with a switch blade knife in my carry on backpack a few years ago- well after 9/11 (2011ish?).
“Luckily” I was a young white girl with an Irish O’Irish name and an American birth place traveling to/from a Latin American country. I lost a lot of faith in airport security at that point.
I’ve come to believe it’s all a show. The arbitrary nature of so many security and CBP policies- especially recently- is further entrenching that belief.
Those other court rulings are clearly erroneous by any logical reading of the text.
Why did the CBP stop him? Was there something wrong with his passport? Was he acting strangely? I’d like to get the CBP’s side of the story before rushing to judgment.
How many times did something like this happen under the Obama administration?
How many American Muslims typically pass through CBP every day without incident?
Here’s another – Australian children’s book author Mem Fox was detained trying to enter the U.S. :
I hope this is an isolated incident, however we know it isn’t. He was traveling with his mom so why would they identify her as Ali’s ex wife but not believe that’s her son named after his dad.
This will be a huge issue for many Blacks. I have several friends with Muslim names who are not Muslim. I won’t say it’s common in our communities but it’s not uncommon either.