The response of the DHS spokesman is really a treasure! "How would we know...?"

December 20, 2004
Syrian Official Is Turned Away at Dulles International Airport
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 19 - A prominent member of Syria's Parliament who had flown to Washington last week to attend a conference said Sunday that he had been denied entry at Dulles International Airport.

The legislator, Muhammed Habash, who is also the president of the Center of Islamic Studies in Damascus and one of Syria's leading moderate Muslim thinkers, had planned to spend several days in Washington taking part in a conference on interfaith dialogue.

Dr. Habash arrived in Washington on Austrian Airlines on Dec. 13, but was turned away by immigration officials who told him that his passport had not been properly stamped when he left the United States on a previous visit. Despite his protests that he was a member of Parliament, Dr. Habash said in an interview here, his visa was summarily canceled, and he was returned to Syria on the same plane.

"I believe they made a bad mistake, and I'm waiting now for an apology," Dr. Habash said. "I was going to America to represent the tolerant voice of Islam, to talk about the renewal of religious speech in Syria. I am not angry with the Americans, but I feel sad, very sad, that I will not have the chance to share my message."

Dr. Habash has, however, been sharing the story of his rejection with Syrian news media, and publicly demanding an apology.

Robert Bozzo, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said Sunday that Dr. Habash's experience did not appear in the department's records of "significant events" at American airports.

"We turn people away all the time," Mr. Bozzo said. "How would we know that this guy was a senior official?"

In May, the Bush administration imposed tougher penalties on Syria, saying it had failed to halt the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq or take action against terrorist groups fighting Israel.