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SignOn San Diego – January 2, 2007
German Muslim with American family
detained, denied U.S. entry
Garance Burke
A German businessman of Syrian descent who wanted to surprise his daughter with a holiday visit was detained for four days in a Las Vegas holding cell before being sent back home without explanation.
A civil rights group called authorities' treatment of Majed Shehadeh a case of anti-Muslim discrimination.
Shehadeh, 62, flew from Frankfurt to Las Vegas last Thursday, hoping to meet with his wife and drive to Bakersfield, Calif., where his American-born daughter had just gotten news she'd passed the California bar exam. Instead, he wound up shivering in a holding cell without ever being told why he couldn't enter the country, he said.
Roxanne Hercules, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, confirmed Tuesday that Shehadeh was denied entry, but would not discuss specifics of his case. She said Shehadeh's visa waiver could have been denied because "he could have a criminal record, or it could be a terrorism issue."
The detention follows a series of similar incidents involving Muslim passengers, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
In October, an Islamic scholar from South Africa was denied entry at San Francisco International Airport. A month later, six imams were taken off a US Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix after a passenger reported overhearing them criticize the U.S. war in Iraq.
"Overall these cases send a message that Muslims are second-class citizens who can be detained and kept from their families," said Affad Shaikh, a civil rights coordinator for CAIR.
Shehadeh touched down Thursday afternoon on a direct Condor Airlines flight to McCarran International Airport, where his American wife was waiting to pick him up. The couple had planned to visit family in the Las Vegas area, before surprising their daughter for the New Year and celebrating her wedding anniversary in Central California.
"I gave them my German passport, and he looked to see which countries I visited. He found I had stamps that looked like Arabic and asked if they were fake," Shehadeh said Tuesday in a phone interview from his home in Alzenau, a small Bavarian village.
"Nobody ever informed me why I was being questioned," he said. "All that was ever told to me was this had to do with Washington."
After being interrogated by Border Protection and FBI agents for more than 12 hours at the airport, Shehadeh said he was handcuffed and transported in the back of police car to a North Las Vegas jail. Officials told family members they had denied Shehadeh's visa waiver, which grants German citizens the right to enter the U.S. with no additional paperwork, said his wife Joanne Mulligan….
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070102-1702-ca-fatherdetained.html
Deutsche Welle – January 3, 2007
German Muslim denied entry to United States
Muslim-Americans have called the detention of a German national of Syrian descent discriminatory. The businessman, who was on a holiday visit, was refused entry into the United States without explanation.
A German Muslim businessman of Syrian extraction, who wanted to join his American wife and daughter in California for a holiday visit, was detained for four days in a holding cell in Las Vegas and sent back home to Germany without explanation.
Majed Shehadeh, 62, was interrogated for twelve hours by border officials at McCarran International Airport last Thursday after arriving on a flight from Frankfurt. He was then handcuffed and transported to a detention cell, where he was locked in with 25 others, and stripped of his shoes, jacket and prescription heart medication.
Shehadeh had planned to join his wife of thirty years Joanne Mulligan, and pay a surprise visit to their American-born daughter who had recently passed her bar exams in California.
US border official declines to discuss specifics
Roxanne Hercules, a spokeswoman for US Customs and Border Protection confirmed on Tuesday that Shehadeh had been denied entry, but would not discuss the specifics of the case.
Normally German nationals, as well as most other EU citizens, are granted visa waivers to the United States for visits under 90 days, but Hercules told the Associated Press that Shehadeh's visa could have been denied because of "a criminal record or terrorism issue."
Last October, US border officials denied entry to an Islamic scholar from South Africa and one month later, six imams were taken off a US Airways domestic flight after one passenger reported overhearing the group criticize the US war in Iraq.
Civil rights group cite anti-Muslim discrimination
Muslim-American activist groups have called the treatment of Shehadeh a case of anti-Muslim discrimination.
"We call on the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to explain why Mr. Shehadeh was barred from entering the United States and ask that his treatment in detention be reviewed to determine if proper procedures were followed," said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of a chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"These type of incidents have the potential to further damage our nation's image in Europe and the Muslim world," he added…..
http://www.dw-world.de/
News Wire – December 30, 2006
German Muslim denied entry to U.S. detained in Las Vegas
CAIR calls for explanation of detention, probe into treatment of detainee
ANAHEIM, Calif., Dec 30, 2006 - The Southern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today asked for an explanation as to why a German Muslim was barred from entering the United States and is now being detained in Nevada.
According to his family, 62-year-old Majed Shehadeh is being held after arriving at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport on Thursday. Family members say Shehadeh was interrogated for a total of more than 12 hours by officials with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the FBI. He was also allegedly placed in a cold cell with some 25 other people and a single toilet, and prevented from taking prescribed heart medication for 20 hours.
Shehadeh, whose wife and three children are U.S. citizens, had planned to visit his daughter in Bakersfield, Calif., to celebrate her passing of the California Bar and her wedding anniversary. The family has reportedly been barred from seeing Shehadeh, and were only able to communicate with him late Friday morning. CBP officials report that he will be sent out of the country on Sunday.
"We call on the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to explain why Mr. Shehadeh was barred from entering the United States and ask that his treatment in detention be reviewed to determine if proper procedures are being followed," said CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush. "These types of incidents have the potential to further damage our nation's image in Europe and the Muslim world."
Ayloush said German citizens are routinely granted visa wavers for entry into the United States. Shehadeh's wife says she and her husband have traveled to the United States almost once a year for the past 30 years.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061230/nysa001.html?.v=77
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