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Iranian Americans Detained When Entering U.S., Says Rights Group

Reports say more than 60 people of Iranian descent—including American citizens—were detained at the Canadian border.

More than 60 people of Iranian descent—including American citizens—were detained for questioning over the weekend when they attempted to enter the United States at the Canadian border, according to a leading Muslim civil-liberties group. The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR] said the people were detained for hours for questioning at the Peace Arch checkpoint in Blaine, Washington. CAIR said many of the people were trying to return to the U.S. after attending an Iranian pop concert Saturday in Vancouver. CAIR claimed in a statement that a source at U.S. Customs and Border Protection told the group about a national directive from the Department of Homeland Security to “‘report’ and detain anyone with Iranian heritage entering the country who is deemed potentially suspicious or ‘adversarial,’ regardless of citizenship status.” A CBP spokesperson denied that DHS or the agency had issued any such directive, saying the reports are “false.”