Mistakes Were Made But No Profiling, Says Feds: A Quarter Million Dollars and Apology to Iraqi Refugee for “Mistakes”

The U.S. government has issued a written apology an paid 4250,000 to settle case involving an Iraqi refugee who was improperly detained and almost deported after arrested in Montana, the American Civil Liberties Union branch in Seattle announced yesterday. The ACLU said the case should make clear to the Customs and Border Protection agency that racial profiling was both illegal and ineffective. “The whole reason that he was stopped to begin with was that he appeared Middle Eastern to the agents at the train station,” said Doug Honig, the spokesman for the A.C.L.U. in Washington State. “This sends a strong message that basing law enforcement solely on ethnic profiling is not proper.”

Jeffrey C. Sullivan, the United States attorney for the Western District of Washington, who signed the apology, said the case was about getting the law concerning refugees wrong and nothing else.   The U.S. government has expressed regrets and admitted that the Iraqi refugee was mistakenly detained and nearly deported. The Justice Department denies that the man was the victim of ethnic profiling.

For the NPR story, click here.

KJ