Loading ...
Authorities Listen to Northeast Ohio Arab-Americans', Muslims' Complaints About Travel
Government officials told local Arab-Americans and Muslims on Saturday that some post-9/11 security measures used in travel are easing, but they acknowledged that the community believes it is subject to a high degree of discrimination in travel and in other parts of their lives.
The two groups got together in a town hall meeting in Parma that focused largely on travel problems Arab-Americans and Muslims encounter when crossing the U.S. border. The meeting sprang from conversations that Steven Dettelbach, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, has had with Muslims who live in the area.
Dettelbach said the idea was to air concerns. He acknowledged at the start that “there is a headwind of intolerance that is in the face of this community.”
Some of the 100 attendees expressed skepticism about just how sensitive the government is to their needs. And while the format was for people to talk in general, it was difficult for a number not to bring up personal experiences.
One man, who said he was of Syrian origin, said he does not look like an Arab and is frequently waved through without extra scrutiny. Yet, he said, companions who appear to be Arab are pulled aside.
The meeting at the Islamic Center of Cleveland on West 130th Street was generally cordial, but there were moments of impassioned questioning.
Razan Reed, a Canadian citizen of Lebanese birth, complained at length that she and her family have been harassed while crossing the border because of her husband’s Islamic faith.
She said her husband, a Toledo firefighter, is an American military veteran. She said she no longer believes in the pledges of government officials to look into their situation.
Most of the questions and comments from the audience dealt with profiling, delays and the extent to which some people are singled out.
George Selim, a Parma native who is a policy adviser with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, said the department has strict policies against racial profiling. He said the agency is sensitive to the rights of citizens and has taken great strides to streamline security procedures.
Yet, Selim said, the challenge facing Homeland Security is that 1.3 million people use U.S. airspace and one of the nation’s 327 ports of entry every day.
Selim said travelers can file formal complaints with Homeland Security about specific problems they have had with security procedures and even attempt to correct erroneous information about them they believe the government might have.
He said some people he has told about the process have later remarked about how the system has reduced travel hassles.
Selim and Dettelbach both noted in the past week that Homeland Security modified the cumbersome National Security Entry/Exit Registration System so that foreign nationals no longer have to register and be subjected to interviews every time they enter the United States.
Also attending the meeting was Peter Bickmore, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI in Ohio’s Northern District, and Special Agent Dan Leeper, who investigates civil-rights violations for the bureau here.
Robert Glenn represented Ohio Homeland Security and Brian Moskowitz spoke for the U.S. Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement section, which covers Michigan and Ohio with headquarters in Detroit.
Dettelbach said the meeting was part of a larger outreach effort by the government. He said that in the coming days he will meet with a Jewish group and representatives of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community, which experience their own share of discrimination and hate crimes.
James Ewinger
The Plain Dealer