Muhammad Ali Jr, son of the late, great, legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, was detained at a airport in Florida and grilled for hours over his name and religion during the implementation of the travel ban put in place by US President Donald J. Trump.
Ali Jr, 44, was stopped alongside his mother and Muhammad Ali’s second wife, Khalilah Camacho-Ali, whilst returning to the US from Jamaica.
A family friend and lawyer, Chris Mancini, told the Courier Journal that the pair were stopped because of their Muslim names.
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They informed customs officials that they were relatives of the late boxer, and the officials asked for proof. Camacho-Ali was able to provide a photo of her with Ali, after which they let her go – but his son had no such photo on hand.
He was thus held for hours and questioned on his name and religion, asking him questions such as “Where did you get your name from?” and “Are you Muslim?”
The incident occurred at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Feb. 7 – Ali was let go after two hours of questioning.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to restrict immigration from seven Muslim majority nations who he claims are hotbeds of terror.Yet Ali Jr, a US citizen born in Philadelphia, was subject to such measures merely for having a Muslim sounding name.
“To the Ali family, it’s crystal clear that this is directly linked to Mr. Trump’s efforts to ban Muslims from the United States,” Chris Mancini said. “Imagine walking into an airport and being asked about your religion. This is classic customs profiling.”
He said the family was looking into the possibility of filing a lawsuit.
This post was published on February 25, 2017 9:45 AM
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