U.S. border officials directed to question, detain people of Iranian descent: memo

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A memo anonymously provided to a U.S. immigration lawyer appears to show border officers were directed to “conduct vetting” on people with ties to Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine following the killing of General Qassem Soleimani.

Len Saunders says an anonymous source on Wednesday provided him a copy of a directive apparently issued by Custom and Border Protection’s Seattle field office instructing agents to question and detain Iranian, Lebanese and Palestinian nationals born between 1961 and 2001. It also said anyone else who had travelled to Iran or Lebanon should be screened.

“This memo is basically the smoking gun,” he says. “It gives credibility to all of the Iranian born applicants for admission — whether they’re Canadian or American — who commented on this interrogation that happened at the local ports of entry.”

Over the weekend of Jan. 5 – 6, following the U.S. drone strike that killed the Iranian general, Canadians of Iranian descent said they were held up for hours as they tried to cross the Peace Arch Border into the States.

RELATED: ‘The new way Persians are being questioned’: North Vancouver woman held for hours at Canada-U.S. border

Similarly, travellers with links to Iran were detained for as long as 12 hours as they crossed the border from Canada into Washington state.

Customs and Border Protection said at the time it had not targeted Iranian-Americans based on their country of origin or issued any such directive to its officers.

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 (@CBP) January 5, 2020

In a statement issued Thursday an official with Customs and Border Protection says some travellers do experience “increased wait times and subsequent interviews.”

“CBP officers may refer for additional screening individuals who present a known risk or individuals about whom we need more information to make a determination of risk” it reads.

“CBP is committed to protecting the civil rights and civil liberties of every individual whom we encounter. Our officers are trained to enforce U.S. laws uniformly and fairly and they do not discriminate based on religion, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation.”

Saunders says he authenticated the memo by showing it to people who once worked at the field office from which it appears to have originated.

He adds the fact that Customs and Border Protection has described it as a “leaked document” also suggests it did come from the government agency.

Saunders says when he was at the border on that January weekend he observed officers treating the dozens of people being held with compassion and kindness, buying them dinner and prefacing their questions with apologies.

“I think they felt very sympathetic to these individuals and the only way that they can correct what happened was basically by exposing this whole incident. Hopefully CBP at some point will decide to do the right thing and admit to what happened so it never happens again.”

With files from Renee Bernard and The Associated Press