United States: Iranians Detained And Interrogated At Border

Dozens of Iranian nationals or possessing dual Iranian and American nationality said on Monday that they had been stopped at the border with the United States and questioned at length by police after tensions over the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in an American strike.

The Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an NGO defending Muslims, says it has helped more than sixty travellers arrested this weekend at the border between Canada and the US state of Washington and questioned for hours during their political opinions.

Many of them are said to have been refused entry into the United States, as border police were unable to detain them for questioning.

A 24-year-old woman quoted by CAIR said she was detained and interrogated for more than ten hours with her family at a crossing point in Blaine, Washington, before finally being released on Sunday morning.

According to the young woman, when her family asked for an explanation, the border police officers replied: “This is just not the right time for you”.

“This information is extremely disturbing and may constitute cases of illegal detention of American citizens,” said Masih Fouladi, director of CAIR for Washington State.

Border and Customs officials (CBP), however, refuted the information, saying the long delays at ports of entry were due to increased traffic in connection with the holiday season and a lack of staffing.

They further claim that their agents do not discriminate on the grounds of religion, race or origin.

A spokesman for the CBP denied Nigeria News that the American government had given directives to prohibit the entry of its territory to the Americans also had the Iranian nationality.

But many have accused President Donald Trump’s government of overstepping its prerogatives, like Washington State Democratic Governor Jay Inslee.

Citizens of his state, “who are Iranian-American, were detained on the border between Canada and the United States (…) for no other reason than their origin,” he accused in a press release, raising “constitutional and moral issues”.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democratic presidential candidate and fierce critic of Donald Trump, was also moved on Twitter by a “deeply disturbing” situation.