{"articles":[{"reaction_config":[{"text":"Support","color":"#2ca788","stance":"support"},{"text":"Oppose","color":"#ef3e42","stance":"oppose"}],"id":40499,"title":"Iranian-Americans Report Being Detained & Questioned at U.S. Border - Do You Support Detaining Iranian-Americans?","html_content":"\n

by U.S.-Iran Hostilities | 1.7.20

What’s the story?

\nUp to 200 people of Iranian descent, including U.S. citizens, appear to have been held by border agents in the wake of an American drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. \n
At a news conference held Monday by U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Iranian-born Negah Hekmati described how she, her husband, and her two young children were held and questioned at the U.S.-Canada border for five hours before being allowed into the U.S.

“My kids shouldn’t experience such things. They are U.S. citizens. This is not O.K.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said in a statement that the \"reports are deeply alarming. Washingtonians, who happen to be Iranian-American, were detained at the Canadian-U.S. border because of their ethnicity or country of origin.\"

Inslee is referring to a statement issued by Customs and Border Patrol following reports of detainment:

\"Social media posts that CBP is detaining Iranian-Americans and refusing their entry into the U.S. because of their country of origin are false. Reports that DHS/CBP has issued a related directive are also false.\"

CBP has also said that travelers may have experienced longer wait times because of reduced staffing over the holiday season—and that it routinely adjusts staffing needs “based on the current threat environment.”
But Washington Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib – the first Iranian-American elected to state legislature – told Newsweek that his office has received multiple reports of CBP stopping Iranian-Americans and questioning them about their heritage.
\"I have heard directly from people, I know that they—U.S. citizens of Iranian American heritage—have been held at the border for extraordinary lengths of time,\" Habib said. \"When we hear story after story of Iranian Americans being singled out based on their ethnicity, stopped for hours, and questioned about their family backgrounds, it is hard to call it anything other than racial profiling.”

\"To have U.S. Customs and Border Protection deny these claims is like being gaslighted from the federal government.\"

What do you think?

Should the U.S. detain and question Iranians and Iranian-Americans? If so, for how long? And what should the travellers be asked? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

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