KPLU Local News
(2010-05-05)
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Crossing the border can be a pain. But one Seattle area couple says what they faced was far worse. Getting back into the United States from Canada became a nightmare. They believe they were targeted, in part, because they are Muslim.
The couple asked that their names not be used. She's Canadian and visibly Muslim, covering herself in the tradition of her faith. He's an American Muslim. His passport indicates he's traveled to Mecca. She says for months they were harassed every time they returned to the U.S. from Vancouver.
On Labor Day weekend, they were waiting in line to cross.
"Our car was surrounded with guns and dogs. We were pulled out, handcuffed and put into a cell," she said.
She says they were immediately released and allowed to cross, never told why they were detained.
The woman, who is a university professor in Canada says there's no doubt in her mind they were the victims of profiling.
"I mean, one time they separated us and started asking me inappropriate questions having to do with being Muslim," she said.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs agency says it does not use religious or racial profiling. And the couple in this case does say, once they documented the problem for federal officials in Washington D.C., the harassment stopped.
However, the couple remains part of a class action lawsuit over the treatment of Muslims at the border.
This weekend, they'll be part of an event in Burlington, Washington highlighting racial profiling by law enforcement.
The event is sponsored by the immigrant rights group One America.
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