home

Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fingerprint Policies

By Jeralyn, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 09:21:28 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

The ACLU has teamed with other organizations to file the first lawsuit against the U.S. over detention of Muslim-Americans crossing the border. In this case, a group of American citizens of the Islamic faith were returning to the U.S. from a religious conference in Toronto.

The New York Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations in simultaneous news conferences in Buffalo and Brooklyn today announced a lawsuit charging that the Department of Homeland Security singled out and violated the rights of American citizens who were returning from a religious conference in Toronto. The lawsuit was filed to challenge the DHS’s policy of detaining, interrogating, fingerprinting and photographing American citizens who are Muslim, solely because they attended an Islamic conference.

“None of the citizens who were detained had done anything unlawful, nor were they charged with any unlawful act,” said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the NYCLU. “It is very troubling that citizens who were exercising their First Amendment rights were singled out because of their faith and attending the conference.”

....The lawsuit charges that the Department of Homeland Security violated the plaintiffs’ rights under the First and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, and under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It was filed today in federal court for the Eastern district of New York on behalf of five American citizens.

< Religious Intolerance Alleged At Air Force Academy | Liquid Marijuana Approved in Canada >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fingerprint Policies | 9 comments (9 topical)
    Re: Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fing (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 09:38:20 AM EST
    excellent. the "tightening of the borders" is all bluster and theatrics. At my last crossing from Canada into the States, we laughed while remarking "Do you smell that? That's a whiff of FRREDOM!"

    Re: Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fing (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 09:45:00 AM EST
    Yes the land of freedom is ring! for you to go right to prison. But understand one thing, we all have been fingerprinted many times before, i have; how many times have you been Fingerprinted? in the land of mass freedom?...Oh Yes!

    Re: Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fing (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 10:41:13 AM EST
    i've been "pushed, stamped, filed, indexed, briefed, debriefed, numbered," fingerprinted, dna'd, x-rayed and ticketed enough times to have my "permanent record" put in a volume. ?does every gov't agency have to repeat these task?

    Re: Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fing (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 11:30:41 AM EST
    Photo'd, fingerprinted and DNA'd. ...and who knows about those helicopters that buzz overhead during marches/protests... they probably know my shirt size and whether my belly button is an "inny" or an "outy" as well!

    Re: Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fing (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 12:25:52 PM EST
    Mfox Well said. I swear some one is posting a bunch of bad jokes in my name!

    Re: Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fing (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 01:17:12 PM EST
    While it is a good idea to be sure of the identity of those who enter our country, the larger and more imminent dangers lie with the people we, left and right, knowingly fail to prevent entering (in the interest of economics of course.) See open Mex border....too much $ at stake.

    Re: Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fing (none / 0) (#7)
    by Wes on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 01:41:54 PM EST
    On the religious intolerance front: 90% of the cadets attending the Air Force Academy identify as Christians (The Oregonian, 04-20-05, Front page)I'm not to sure how many of those 90% are actively pursuing the subjegation of Muslims, but for christ's sake thats alot of christians! Having been in the military myself it was definatly apparent that our military institutions are well steeped in christian dogma.

    Re: Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fing (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 06:19:30 PM EST
    wes - Can you explain to us why it is bad that 90% of the cadets self identify as Christians? We are still a nation founded on, basically, western europe protestant beliefs, with a dose of Church of England, and I would guess that the country, as a whole, is in the 90% range as "christians." And why, I wonder, do you speculate on how many are focused on subjegation of moslems? Do you have any particular insight that would indicate that to be the case? I mean outside of the fact that you have been in the military, which is not exactly a unique or unusal occurance. et al - The real issue here is profiling. And what is not stated is "why." Was the conference as described? If so, this is a cut dried, "don't do this." I'd really like to hear the motive of the gobvernment, especially since they will not use profiling at airport security, which is one of the dumber things.

    Re: Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fing (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 21, 2005 at 09:26:38 AM EST
    Well said ppj, but come on the reason why the government is not doing? airport profiling is for race reasons. but also understand why bush is doing this, its about the oil,money name it, its about highjacking the system, its about control the old way.

    Muslim-Americans Sue U.S. Over Detention, Fingerprint Policies | 9 comments (9 topical)