US Law Professor Detained by CBP at YEG Pre-Clearance Facility
Dec 9, 2016, 3:50 pm
#1
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US Law Professor Detained by CBP at YEG Pre-Clearance Facility
Khaled Abou El Fadl is a professor at the UCLA School of Law. He is an experienced immigration lawyer and has taught immigration law.
Professor Abou El Fadl, a United States citizen, flew to Edmonton to give a lecture at the University of Alberta. On his way home, after clearing airport security, he was detained by US CBP agents for no apparent reason (other than flying while Muslim).
In the Los Angeles Times:
Professor Abou El Fadl, a United States citizen, flew to Edmonton to give a lecture at the University of Alberta. On his way home, after clearing airport security, he was detained by US CBP agents for no apparent reason (other than flying while Muslim).
In the Los Angeles Times:
What message was the U.S. government trying to send when it detained me at the border?
Excerpt
Excerpt
...travelers to America insert their passports into a scanning machine, fill in basic information on a touchscreen, and get their photos taken. Then the machine ejects a form that must be presented to the Homeland Security officers. I was rather surprised and somewhat amused when the form in my case came out of the machine with a large and jarring X all over it. When I handed it over, my American passport was placed in a red folder and I was asked to follow the officer to a side area.
...The procedure is usually employed to make sure noncitizens have their visas and other papers in order. U.S. citizens have a constitutional right to return to their country. Even if they are fugitives from justice, they will be allowed to clear customs before being apprehended by law enforcement.
Although my wife and son were free to board the plane for home, they followed me to the side area. We were the only passengers in a large, ominous looking room with rows of empty seats. A lone officer sat behind a service window, eyeing us with suspicion as we sat down. He preceded to stare at his computer as the time for boarding our plane was quickly running out. I was not asked a single question, or told a single thing about the reason for the delay. A much braver soul than I, my wife asked the officer if we were going to make our flight, to which he dryly replied, “I don’t know.” After around 40 minutes, we were set free with nothing more than a “you can go.” We ran to make our flight as my wife pushed my wheelchair and our son wrangled our two wheeled carry-ons. We had been welcomed with dignity as we entered Canada, only to be dehumanized when we came home.
...The procedure is usually employed to make sure noncitizens have their visas and other papers in order. U.S. citizens have a constitutional right to return to their country. Even if they are fugitives from justice, they will be allowed to clear customs before being apprehended by law enforcement.
Although my wife and son were free to board the plane for home, they followed me to the side area. We were the only passengers in a large, ominous looking room with rows of empty seats. A lone officer sat behind a service window, eyeing us with suspicion as we sat down. He preceded to stare at his computer as the time for boarding our plane was quickly running out. I was not asked a single question, or told a single thing about the reason for the delay. A much braver soul than I, my wife asked the officer if we were going to make our flight, to which he dryly replied, “I don’t know.” After around 40 minutes, we were set free with nothing more than a “you can go.” We ran to make our flight as my wife pushed my wheelchair and our son wrangled our two wheeled carry-ons. We had been welcomed with dignity as we entered Canada, only to be dehumanized when we came home.
Dec 10, 2016, 12:48 am
#2
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Unfortunately, this guy's name is shared by a variety of people who use his same name as a nom de guerre. And his name otherwise also constitutes a name reference that is likely shared by many thousands of people (if not even more). Khaled (and its various soundex-type equivalents) is a very popular name, and many such men with that name are the father of a child named Fadl.
This is just the kind of stuff that arises when there is a confusion over the identity with those who are actually deliberately blacklisted in some form. And it's possible that the delay he was subjected to at YEG included an effort to try to get things straight for him so it doesn't happen again as frequently in the future.
This is just the kind of stuff that arises when there is a confusion over the identity with those who are actually deliberately blacklisted in some form. And it's possible that the delay he was subjected to at YEG included an effort to try to get things straight for him so it doesn't happen again as frequently in the future.
Dec 10, 2016, 5:40 am
#3
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Did his and/or a travel party member's boarding pass have the notorious SSSS mark? It sounds like it did; that and/or at least he got the CATSA treatment for passengers hit by the US-required process that comes from being flagged with the mark.
Given the possible confusion over identity and the government-mandated harSSSSment type screening of some segments of passengers, his experi now doesn't seem to be that unusual -- whether or not the impacted passengers are Muslim. That said, when it comes to the blacklists used by the USG and/or airlines/airline security contractors that give rise to SSSS marks, these hit Muslim Americans at a greater frequency than Muslims represent in the US general population. Part of that is a result of the kind of people placed on the relevant blacklists, and part of that is a result of identity confusion arising from popular names amongst Muslim populations.
Given the possible confusion over identity and the government-mandated harSSSSment type screening of some segments of passengers, his experi now doesn't seem to be that unusual -- whether or not the impacted passengers are Muslim. That said, when it comes to the blacklists used by the USG and/or airlines/airline security contractors that give rise to SSSS marks, these hit Muslim Americans at a greater frequency than Muslims represent in the US general population. Part of that is a result of the kind of people placed on the relevant blacklists, and part of that is a result of identity confusion arising from popular names amongst Muslim populations.
Dec 11, 2016, 6:41 pm
#4
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As much as I view the religion with distrust, this seems to be unnecessary separation and paranoia!
But then again, the US is bringing in a bigot known as Trump for president and authorized dual citizens from certain countries from being eligible for Visa Waiver merely because of theor heritage......land of the free and brave, my ...!
But then again, the US is bringing in a bigot known as Trump for president and authorized dual citizens from certain countries from being eligible for Visa Waiver merely because of theor heritage......land of the free and brave, my ...!