Profiling Case in the Second Circuit

The Associated Press (here) reported on oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a case raising the question whether authorities went too far in instructing border agents to detain and search American Muslims returning from an Islamic religious conference in Canada. In late 2004, U.S. law enforcement agents became concerned that supporters of terror groups might try to attend several Islamic religious conferences, including the “Reviving Islamic Spirit” conference that drew 13,000 people to Toronto’s SkyDome. So, as a precautionary measure, they instituted an unusual dragnet, instructing border agents to detain and search anyone entering the U.S. after attending one of these conferences abroad. At a border crossing in Lewiston, New York, some law-abiding citizens trying to return home from Toronto were held for up to 6 1/2 hours while they were fingerprinted, photographed, searched and questioned by agents who never explained why they had been detained. The New York Civil Liberties Union argued during a court hearing Thursday that the government acted unconstitutionally when it singled out such a large group of Muslims for aggressive inspection. According to AP, the two of the three judges sounded skeptical of the plaintiffs claims that the government had infringed on their religious liberties and right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

In December 2005, a district court had denied a preliminary injunction barring the U.S. government from engaging in such practices.  See Tabbaa v. Chertoff, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38189 (W.D.N.Y. 2005).

KJ