Three U.S. citizens have accused immigration authorities of stopping them at the border and asking questions about their Muslim faith, according to a lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union filed on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The three citizens, all Muslim men living in different locations across the country, claim that they were stopped by border officers upon returning from international travel, brought to a separate screening, and questioned about whether they were Sunni or Shiite as well as other aspects of their religious faith.
The lawsuit states that the three men were all led to believe that they were unable to leave unless they cooperated, and the ACLU claims that these practices violate the men's First Amendment rights.
"Defendants engage in a policy and/or practice of singling out and targeting Muslims, including Plaintiffs, for religious questioning during secondary inspections because of their adherence to Islam," the lawsuit contends. "As part of this policy and/or practice of religious questioning, Defendants retain records that reflect answers to religious questions and thus contain information about the religious beliefs, practices, and associations of Muslims, including Plaintiffs."
It adds, "By targeting plaintiffs for religious questioning merely because they are Muslim … border officers stigmatize them for adhering to a particular faith and condemn their religion as subject to suspicion and distrust."
It goes on to call for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to stop asking questions about religion and to expunge the plaintiffs' records. CBP and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to the Journal's requests for comment.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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