Muslims Asked About Martyrdom, Religion By US Border Officials At Entry Ports

[cbayer]

http://www.ibtimes.com/muslims-asked-about-martyrdom-religion-us-border-officials-entry-ports-1941865

By Eben Blake on May 28 2015 10:20 AM EDT

?itok=rRK7l3wG
Demonstrators from Occupy ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) rally at Union Station in Los Angeles in 2011. Reuters

U.S. border officials are using a questionnaire about religion to harass Muslim travelers, a Muslim advocacy group charges. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement questionnaire was released by the Department of Homeland Security in response to a lawsuit by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Intercept reports.

The questions that were revealed -- the document was heavily redacted -- include "Have you participated in any formal religious training or schooling?" "What house of worship do you attend?" and "Do you have any relatives or friends who have been martyred fighting in the defense of your beliefs?" Derek Benner, deputy executive associate director of homeland security investigations for ICE, said the document's purpose is "to provide guidance to special agents who are called upon to conduct a certain type of investigatory review of persons."

CAIR's lawsuit argues that customs and border officials have unconstitutionally engaged in religious profiling, and that the questions contribute to a larger harassment of Muslim travelers. The suit was filed in 2012 on behalf of four Americans who say they were detained for their religious beliefs while crossing the U.S.-Canada border.

"There is very obviously a concerted effort to question and intimidate Muslim-Americans based on their religious beliefs," Gadeir Abbas, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, told the Intercept. "The types of questions specifically asked of Muslim travelers at borders across the country are far too consistent for there to not be some type of overarching framework and direction being used to target them."

more at link

[COLGATE4]

1. CAIR is going to have a very hard time making

an winning argument of 'unconstitutionality' about these measures, seeing as these transpire with foreign travelers seeking admission to the US. Seeing as they are not legally 'in' the US at that point, there are no constitutional protections available to them.

[cbayer]

2. But is it right? Is this who we want to be?

These questions are being asked of american citizens. Do they give up their constitutional protections if they travel out of the country then come back in?

[COLGATE4]

3. By analogy it probably is. After all, the USSCt has held

that we don't have normal constitutional protections against search and seizure at the border.

[cbayer]

4. But that applies to everyone. This is profiling.

How do they even decide who is a muslim american?

It might be different if they gave this questionnaire to everyone, but this can easily be construed as harassment based on how someone looks.

[COLGATE4]

5. Once again, profiling is absolutely permissible

at the border. Constitutional protections don't apply there. And no, it doesn't constitute harassment.

[cbayer]

6. I disagree with you. I think it does constitute harassment.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

While I understand that they rules don't apply when there is cause, can they remove the rules for whole groups of people?

It looks like there is an ongoing debate over this issue between the Obama administration and homeland security. This case may settle that.

[AtheistCrusader]

12. We might get agree that it constitutes harassment.

However, the law of the land disagrees.

Yet another fucking thing we have to fix.

[pinto]

7. I think our resources, financial and staffing, are woefully misdirected.

"Are you now or have you ever been..." has never been effective. And who do you pick to question? What constitutes reasonable cause?

The TSA, CIA and FBI have plenty of technical resources to track and challenge many who pose an actual risk here. Including home grown non-Muslim potential perps as well as others traveling to the US. Muslim or otherwise.

[cbayer]

8. And a real terrorist is going to absolutely tell the truth when asked these questions, right?

Homeland security?

[pinto]

9. Yeah, right.

"Homeland security" - Jeez, I hate that agency tag.

[Yorktown]

10. Anyone lying to a questionnaire is providing evidence in case of a later jury.

It helps make the charges stick once they engage in conspiracy.

[AtheistCrusader]

13. There are... Observational tools being employed when they answer.

Count on it.

SEATAC airport has a morgue and an armory. Count on most international airports having, among other things, an unmarked door near this area, behind which there are men with m-16's, or m4's.

[Yorktown]

11. NB: CAIR has links to organizations labeled as terrorist by other countries

CAIR is the vehicle for the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the avowed spiritual guidance of Hamas.

Seeing CAIR fight an immigration questionnaire should be viewed as proof positive of the usefulness of said questionnaire.