According to a family lawyer, the son of the late Muhammad Ali was asked at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport by U.S. Board Agents if he was a Muslim.
The 44-year old Muhammad Ali Jr., who was born in Philadelphia and a United States citizen was apparently detained and questioned about his religion on a return flight from Jamaica with his mother Khalilah Camacho-Ali. The two were attending a Black History Month event on the island nation.
Here’s The Guardian with the details:
“Where did you get your name from? Are you a Muslim?” they asked the 44-year-old Muhammad Ali Jr, who was born in Philadelphia and is a US citizen.
When Ali confirmed to immigration officials at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood international airport in Florida that he was a Muslim, they began questioning him about where he was born, family friend and lawyer Chris Mancini told the Courier-Journal newspaper. The questioning lasted for about two hours.
Ali had been at a black history month event in Jamaica with his mother, Khalilah Camacho-Ali. She was allowed to enter the country after producing a photo of herself with her famous ex-husband, who died last year, but her son had nothing to prove his link to the boxer.
The family says that the February 7th incident was the first time they’ve been detained and consider it a direct correlation to Donald Trump‘s attempted Muslim ban which was struck down by a federal appeals court.
“To the Ali family, it’s crystal clear that this is directly linked to Mr Trump’s efforts to ban Muslims from the United States,” Mancini said, adding that they were trying to find out how many others faced similar questioning, and were contemplating filing a federal lawsuit.
“Imagine walking into an airport and being asked about your religion,” Mancini told the paper. “This is classic customs profiling.”
But yeah… the attempted executive order by Trump (which is currently being reworked) wasn’t a Muslim ban.
