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CAIR-WA Responds to Border Crisis Over the Weekend
Assalamu Alaikum,


As you may have heard by now, there was a crisis at Washington state’s northern border on Saturday evening . Over 60 people of Iranian descent, the vast majority of whom are American citizens, were detained at length and questioned at the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine, Washington.

After being held for between six to twelve hours , all the individuals who were detained were permitted to re-enter the United States. Many of those detained at the Peace Arch Border were returning to their homes in the United States from family vacations over Christmas break.

Those detained reported that their passports and car keys were confiscated while they were questioned about their political views, allegiances, and family histories . Others were asked to turn over their social media account information.

Since reports of the first incidents came in late Saturday, all of us at CAIR Washington have been doing everything we can to assist those impacted by the crisis. We were the first legal organization to respond to the detentions on Saturday evening and remained in contact with three families who were detained; guiding them through the process until their release.

CAIR Washington is coordinating a response to the situation in Blaine in tandem with elected officials. Communication included a press conference with Congresswoman Jayapal that took place this morning. Several Washington state representatives have been in contact with our offices in the aftermath of the incident and we are keeping them apprised of the situation as it develops.

CAIR Washington is also working to elevate the stories of the individuals detained at the border by coordinating and providing comment on over 25 media inquiries in the last 24 hours . By serving as a source for reputable media outlets such as The Washington Post , The New York Times , The Intercep t , and local journalists , we have successfully crafted a narrative of the Iranian and Muslim experience at the border in contrast to the bold-faced lies from Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) regarding our community's experiences.

We were successful in utilizing these media mentions to pressure CBP into decreasing delay times by Sunday morning. As of Monday at 4 pm, we have not heard of any outlying detentions at Blaine, and we believe this is due in part to the media coverage of the detentions.

Despite this temporary victory, reports of American citizens being held for between six to twelve hours and questioned about their allegiances are extremely troubling and potentially constitute illegal detentions.

CAIR Washington will continue to work with elected officials and nonprofit organizations to verify whether there was a national directive or guidance coming from the federal government to detain Iranian Americans at ports of entry. As we learn more, we will continue to update the community and determine how travel for Iranians and other Muslims in the coming days and weeks may be impacted.

To be a citizen of the United States is not just to have constitutional rights in times of tranquility but at all times. Regardless of what’s happening with U.S. Foreign policy, Americans are guaranteed certain unalienable rights.

As we’ve seen with Japanese incarceration in the 1940s and countless times since, U.S. citizens’ countries of origin are routinely brought up as a reason for unconstitutional detention and inappropriate treatment. This practice is unacceptable and CAIR Washington will never stop fighting against it.

We are incredibly grateful for the resilience of our Washington Iranian and Muslim community at this time. The travelers have shown enormous bravery in the face of potential retribution by coming forward and speaking their truth. We’ve received countless calls from Canadian Muslims in Vancouver offering to help feed and house those experiencing delays as well as calls offering legal assistance from folks across the country. Our allies in both the government and the advocacy community here in Washington have reached out in solidarity. It’s at times like these that our community’s strength and resilience shines through. 



- Masih Fouladi

CAIR Washington Executive Director