Democratic leaders including Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and half a dozen House chairs led by Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal are calling for answers from top Trump administration officials, following the prolonged detention and interrogation by Customs and Border Protection of a large number of Iranian Americans and Iranians who were trying to return home to the U.S. from Canada this past weekend.
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In their letter, Jayapal and five House chairs tell acting Homeland Security Sec. Chad Wolf, acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan, and Blaine Sector Port Director Kenneth Williams that reportedly “more than 60 people were held in secondary inspection for up to 10 hours. Observers on the ground have reported that as many as 200 people were held for secondary inspection during this period. Many impacted individuals were U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, including seniors and children.”
Jayapal, Judiciary chair Jerry Nadler, Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship chair Zoe Lofgren, Homeland Security chairman Bennie Thompson, Oversight and Reform Committee chair Carolyn Maloney, and Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security chair Kathleen Rice referenced Negah Hekmati’s family, Seattle area residents “who were pre-screened for expedited processing as Nexus pass holders,” but were instead detained for five hours and questioned about extended family and social media activity.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement that others “were questioned about their political views and allegiances,” as well as social media activity, like in Hekmati’s case. Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, told The New York Times that some of the questioning violated these families’ rights because U.S. citizens and legal residents can only be asked certain questions by CBP.
Warren writes in her letter to Morgan that “While CBP has issued statements denying that Iranian Americans are being detained or refused entry into the United States due to their country of origin, the agency has not addressed the troubling reports from individuals held at the border, news outlets, immigration attorneys, and civil rights and civil liberties groups, nor has it addressed other potential reasons for holding people of Iranian descent at the border.” CBP’s claims, the chairs continued in their letter, “do not explain why impacted persons were overwhelmingly of Iranian heritage.”
"The new threat warning from DHS is serious, and CBP should be taking lawful and appropriate action to protect national security,” Warren continued in her letter. "But the conflicting information circulating about CBP personnel's treatment of Iranian Americans and people who are or are perceived to be of Iranian heritage raises questions about what agency policies are in effect, and how CBP is 'safeguard(ing) our national security ... while simultaneously protecting the civil rights and liberties of everyone.'"