SKYONE: Why target them 'after' the flight? And why target 'naturalized' citizens? What possible gain could it achieve? Mike Burris Cambridge, Mass --- psa188@xxxxxxxx wrote: > This story was sent to you by: Bill Hough > > -------------------- > JFK illegally targeting Muslims, groups say > -------------------- > > BY BRYAN VIRASAMI > Newsday Staff Writer > > August 24, 2006 > > Muslim, Arab and South Asian passengers are being > profiled by Homeland Security officers at Kennedy > Airport, civil liberties groups said Wednesday, > citing a New Jersey family that was detained and > interrogated after a flight from Dubai last week. > > The family, a mother and her 20-year-old twin > daughters from Montclair, N.J., said they were > plucked from the baggage area, held six hours > without food or water by Customs and Border > Protection agents and questioned about their views > of Iraq. > > Nahgam Alyaqoubi and her daughters, Arwa and Sumia > Ibrahim, naturalized American citizens, said 200 > other passengers of Arab, Muslim or South Asian > backgrounds were detained on Aug. 15 in a roped-off > area, days after the London bomb suspects were > arrested. > > The family joined officials from the American Civil > Liberties Union and other rights groups at a news > conference in the Manhattan office of the Council on > American-Islamic Relations to condemn what they say > has been an increase in racial profiling since the > London plot was uncovered. They also criticized Rep. > Peter King for what they said was profiling. > > Arwa Ibrahim, who along with her sister is enrolled > at Rutgers University, said they were born in Iraq > and moved to the United States at age 5. She said > the experience was disturbing because they were > forced to sit on the floor without food or water and > were treated rudely when they asked questions of the > officers. > > "It was a really humiliating experience -- > humiliating because we were treated like animals," > she said. "We were treated really horribly by the > officers that were there, we were yelled at, we were > told to get back, threatened with arrest and > threatened to have to stay longer if we complained." > > The ACLU and other rights groups said they planned > to investigate this and several other complaints of > profiling. > > Lucille Cirillo, a supervisory Customs Border > Protection officer in New York City, said the > heightened alert after the London arrests means more > passengers are scrutinized. She said the Orange > Alert dictates that some flights get more attention. > > Neither customs nor homeland security officers > engage in racial profiling, she said. "But what I > will say on the matter is our officers will > scrutinize more closely individuals arriving from > high-risk countries," Cirillo said. > > On the complaints about lack of water, she said > airlines are required to provide food and water to > passengers even if they're off the plane and in the > luggage area of the airport. > > Katherine Metres Abbadi, executive director of the > American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said > recent comments from King were inflammatory. > > "Why is Congressman King calling for a policy which > has been tried and proven not to work and which has > been disavowed by security experts?" she said. > > King said he was speaking on the basis that the > "next terrorist" will come from places like the > Middle East or South Asia. > > "First of all, it's not ethnic or racial profiling," > King said Wednesday. "What I'm saying, though, is > that screeners should have the right to ask > additional questions of a person who belongs to a > particular ethnic or religious group if members of > that group have threatened the United States." > > -------------------- > > This article originally appeared at: > http://www.amny.com/news/local/transportation/am-prof0824,0,5125934.story?coll=am-transportation-headlines > > > Visit AM New York online at http://www.amny.com > Michael A. Burris Freelance Writer, Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com