CAIR says more than 60 Iranians and Iranian-Americans illegally detained at US/Canada border overnight Saturday at the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine, Washington.
We have asked US Customs & Border Protection and Homeland Security for comment on allegations that Iranian Americans were held for lengthy questioning upon trying to cross the border back into the US. Follow @CBCtanya for the latest on this story.
@CBCtanya Council on American-Islamic Relations release cites a CBP source that (DHS) "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."
@CBCtanya Department of Homeland Security says it is working on a response to allegations made in CAIR release.
@CBCtanya CBP spokesperson has issued the following statement: "Social media posts that CBP is detaining Iranian-Americans and refusing their entry into the U.S. because of their country of origin are false. Reports that DHS/CBP has issued a related directive are also false."
@CBCtanya CBP is, however, operating with what is being called an enhanced posture at its ports of entry. Processing times at points of entry are affected by traveler volumes, staffing, and threat posture.
Here is the account of an Iranian-Canadian who says he was detained for hours: cbc.ca/news/canada/br…
1/2 Statement from Office of Public Safety Minister Bill Blair:
“We can confirm that the Canada Border Services Agency has no involvement in this matter.”
“We can confirm that the Canada Border Services Agency has no involvement in this matter.”
2/2 “All Canadian citizens, regardless of their background, are equal before and under the law, and no one will ever be arbitrarily detained at the Canadian border nor refused entry purely because of their ethnicity or religion.”
