A British Muslim student who flew to the United States for a week-long holiday said he was profiled because of his faith after being detained and questioned for nearly 24 hours at Orlando International Airport.
Laith Alani, a 20-year-old law student from Oxford, had planned to spend around £2,500 ($3,200) on a trip to Florida’s theme parks and hoped to meet a relative living in California. Instead, he was pulled aside by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shortly after arriving in the country on July 3.
Alani said he was subjected to nearly nine hours of questioning before being held in a cell for another 14 hours. During the inspection, he said officials searched his electronic devices and social media accounts and questioned him about his relatives, neighbours, hobbies and previous travel.
U.S. authorities told The Guardian that “inconsistencies were identified” in Alani’s travel history “during inspection” and that he “withdrew his application for admission.”
Alani disputes that account. He said his removal from the U.S. was presented to him as a “forcefully settled outcome.”
He had previously been denied a fast-track ESTA visa waiver after disclosing his travel history to Iraq, where he has relatives. However, he was later granted a 10-year, multiple-entry B1/B2 tourist visa, which allows him to travel to the U.S. for tourism and to visit relatives.
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Alani said officials focused heavily on a trip he made to Tunisia in July last year, which took place about a month after he received his U.S. visa.
“My prior travel history was scrutinised in detail, particularly a trip to Tunisia I took in July last year, a month after obtaining my visa. It was implied I needed permission for this travel and should have informed the embassy in advance, despite this being a last-minute trip with no plans in place prior to obtaining my visa,” he stated.
The Guardian reported that it had seen correspondence from CBP responding to a complaint filed by Alani. According to the correspondence, an officer determined that Alani, who holds a British passport, was inadmissible because he was “unable to overcome the presumption he was an intending immigrant.”
The University of West London student was taken for what CBP calls “secondary inspection” after landing in Orlando. Following almost a full day in detention, Alani said he was told he would be deported and was given an electronic signature pad.
He said he was then given a document carrying his signature that stated he had voluntarily withdrawn his application to enter the U.S.
“I would never have signed it if I understood,” Alani said. “I’m autistic. I’m vulnerable. I’m legally disabled. I have a heart disorder. [The official] doesn’t care. He’s just nonstop interviewing me, nitpicking every single thing you can imagine.
“I felt like I’d been kidnapped. I was threatened with handcuffs. He’s profiled me because I’m Muslim. I count myself lucky I wasn’t shot, deported to another country or beaten.”
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The case has since been raised with the UK government by Alani’s local MP, Anneliese Dodds.
The incident has also drawn concern from Muslim and Arab organisations amid wider scrutiny over how travellers are being treated at U.S. airports.
A spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain said: “It’s now a regular occurrence for many British Muslim families to hear of travellers to U.S. airports holding British citizenship being detained, interrogated for multiple hours and devices being confiscated and searched, often on spurious grounds.”
Alani’s account comes as scrutiny grows over the experience of international travelers entering the U.S., particularly those who are subjected to secondary inspection and extended questioning at the border.
For Alani, what was supposed to be a short holiday in Florida ended with detention, deportation and questions over whether his identity and travel history played a role in how he was treated.