U.S. citizens returning from Canada aren't usually fingerprinted at the border. Last December, UB freshman Hassan Shibly and 33 other Muslim Americans found out the rules had changed.
On a cold December day, Sawsan Tabbaa, a Williamsville orthodontist, left home with her four children packed in the back of her minivan. They were headed for the “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” conference in Toronto to celebrate their religious heritage.
Before she pulled into her driveway again, Tabbaa would be interrogated by U.S. Department of Homeland Security officers, and given a choice between being fingerprinted or remaining in a holding cell.
When she came home, her country felt like a different place, and she was not alone in her experience. Her son, University at Buffalo freshman Hassan Shibly, and 32 other Muslim American citizens were detained at the Lewiston-Queenston International Bridge after returning from the conference in Toronto. According to Kristie Clemens, a customs and border spokesperson, 34 Muslims were stopped at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge and four others were stopped at the Rainbow Bridge in the late hours of December 26 and the early hours of December 27.
Some of those detained were held up to six hours, during which time they were fingerprinted and searched. Most Americans who cross the border have never faced such stringent security measures to confirm their identity.
At the annual meeting of the Western New York chapter of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) held at UB a few weeks ago, the detainees were guaranteed they would be informed of the reason for their detainment by U.S. attorney Michael A. Battle.
“[Department of Homeland Security officials] are very much aware of the concerns in this community,” he said. “Someone from that office is going to come to talk to you, I’m told within the next two months.”
Homeland Security officials would later tell The Buffalo News that they had pulled over anyone saying they had attended the “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” conference because they had information that indicated such events could be used as a means to advance a terrorist message.
“As for border protection, I understand they have the right to stop anybody,” Tabbaa said. “Living in a safe country is a heaven, but why were they doing this… just because I’m a Muslim?”
On December 27, Tabbaa was returning to the U.S. after a satisfying experience at the conference, called “Reviving the Islamic Spirit.” Held each year since 2002, it was created as a teaching tool after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to provide an educational reference into the Muslim religion. It teaches people “how to work with each other as a human nation, regardless of religion,” Tabbaa said.
She came to the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, and pulled her Toyota Sienna up to the window, where the officer was “not very nice,” Tabbaa said.
“They told us they were pulling us over for a random search,” said Shibly.
They were escorted into the garage area, and told to step out from the automobile. The family was then led into a holding room, where they found an entirely non-random group of people.
“When we went in, I was shocked because two of my best friends were in there and I knew almost everyone in the room,” said Shibly.
Touring the room, they found many of the same people from their community, who had all attended the same conference. Family to family, person to person, their suspicions were confirmed: everyone in the room was of the Muslim faith, and all had attended the conference in Toronto.
“It was beyond imagination,” Tabbaa recalled.
“I asked for an explanation, and I got no answer,” she stated. She asked again, “Is this random?” And again, she received no answer. After some time, she finally got a response. “If I tell you, I could lose my job,” the supervisor stated, referring to an officer in the room.
Shibly said the guards insisted it was a random search until about three hours into the ordeal.
“They took us into a separate room and interrogated us, took our pictures, and fingerprinted us, all without any explanation,” he said. “We thought this was really peculiar, so we tried to contact the media. When they found out, we weren’t allowed to use our phones anymore.”
“I refused to give my fingerprints,” Tabbaa said. At this she claims a border patrol officer told her they would put her in a holding cell if she wouldn’t follow orders—nobody was allowed to leave without submitting fingerprints. Shibly also had to fill out and sign a form that asked who he contacted or had conversed with while at the conference.
Around 6 a.m., after being detained for over four hours, US officials allowed the Tabbaa family entrance into the U.S. Tabbaa allowed authorities to fingerprint her prior to her departure, but remained steadfast in her refusal to be photographed.
“We were treated as criminals,” said Shibly. “We’re American citizens.”
Homeland Security officials said the detentions and fingerprinting were legitimate efforts to ensure terrorists did not slip over the border. “Our goal within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is to prevent terrorists and weapons from entering our country,” explained Janet Rapaport, spokeswoman for the press office at the DHS in New York City.
“We have received ongoing credible information that conferences may be used by terrorists to mask their intentions,” Rapaport said. “Terrorists will try to use legitimate events to mask their terrorist action.”
When asked about the fingerprinting, the DHS uses fingerprinting to “verify the identity of persons” entering the U.S. When asked if there was any Muslim-specific policy on record, she said there is “no policy” specifically relating to anyone of Muslim descent.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), was quoted in The Buffalo News as saying, “The image of a room full of American Muslim citizens apparently being held solely because of their faith and the fact that they attended an Islamic conference is one that should be disturbing to all Americans who value religious freedom.”
CAIR is calling for an investigation of the incident by Homeland Security officials. Among the other national advocacy groups involved in support of those held are the MPAC and the American Civil Liberties Union.
At the MPAC meeting with U.S. attorney Battle, Ahmed Younis, the group’s national director, said border officials “transgressed the law and ran roughshod over the Constitution with their treatment of American Muslims.”
“It’s really disgusting,” said Amil Sarfraz, an official for UB’s Muslim Student Association (MSA). “They were told it was a random check, but all they found was Muslims.”
“Americans are good people,” said Sarfraz. “The problem is ignorance.” He said Muslims need to educate the average American, and to listen.
“I really hope we get to the point where this doesn’t happen any more,” Sarfraz said. “America is becoming more progressive, but we still have a long way to go.” He said he remained “cautiously optimistic” that incidents like this won’t happen again.
Singling out religious groups is dangerous, said Tabbaa. “Being American means you are free, right?”
The Lewiston-Queenston detainment is one in a string of profiling cases that some Muslims say have been going on since the 9/11 attacks. In August 2004, the Seattle Times reported that about 20 Seattle-area Muslims met with U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-WA, about random questioning by the FBI.
In the Seattle case, about 30 men were invited to an FBI office under the pretenses that the agents wanted to talk to them about efforts to reach out to the Muslim community. Instead, allegedly, they were asked whether they belonged to terrorist organizations and if they had purchased an emergency vehicle.
Much of the controversy tied to both of these events comes back to the Patriot Act, the federal anti-terror legislation that contains some provisions that critics say are used to subvert constitutional rights.
“It allows the government to do what it wants without having any judicial oversight, and that can be a big problem,” Sarfraz said. “It allows them to be a lot more secretive and that is going to mean more breaching of the Constitution.”
The MSA will be holding a Muslim civil rights awareness lecture entitled “Is it Justice or is it Just Us?” on March 1 in the Student Union Theater at 7 p.m. Shibly, the detained UB freshman, will be speaking at the event. He said he worries about the direction the country he loves is headed in.
“Taking away [Muslims’] rights little by little is what worries us,” Shibly said. “[When] is that going to end?”
“If it can happen to me, it can happen to you,” he said. “That’s why we should all make sure our civil rights aren’t being trampled on.”
