Muhammad Ali Junior, son of late legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, said United States immigration officials at Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport questioned him about his religion and detained him for two hours on February 7, Miami New Times reported. The 44-year-old US passport holder, with no criminal record, said he was returning from Jamaica with his mother, Khalilah, the English daily reported.
His mother Khalilah showed officials a photo of herself with the late boxer to avoid questioning, the report said. “This is an outrage. I don’t know what is going on with [President Donald] Trump’s claim that his ban is not religion-based. We do not discriminate in this country based on religion,” the daily quoted Chris Mancini, a former federal prosecutor and friend of the family as saying.
US Customs and Border Protection responded to a query posed by Courier Journal saying, “Due to the restrictions of the Privacy Act, US Customs and Border Protection cannot discuss individual travelers. However, all international travelers arriving in the US are subject to CBP inspection.”
United States President Donald Trump’s policy to increase restrictions on people coming into the country has been a bone of contention across the country and has currently been suspended by an appeals court. While Trump had defended the move as “not a Muslim ban”, the restrictions brought in by his executive order has wreaked havoc on immigrant families, especially those with valid visas. Protests were launched across the country, including at airports, against the immigration ban. It has been criticised by several quarters, including politicians, activists, immigration advocates and even United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
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