Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
International

Iranian Boy, 5, Detained At US Airport For Hours. White House Feared 'Security Risk'

Darpan News Desk IANS, 01 Feb, 2017 12:47 PM
  • Iranian Boy, 5, Detained At US Airport For Hours. White House Feared 'Security Risk'
A five-year-old Iranian-origin boy was reportedly detained for hours at an airport near Washington following President Donald Trump's immigration order with the White House saying he might have posed a "security risk".
 
Video footage taken on the weekend showed the emotional reunion between the boy, reportedly a US citizen, and his Iranian mother who waited for hours at Washington Dulles International Airport for her son to be released, WILX-TV reported.
 
Democrats say the boy is a US citizen from Maryland and his mother is from Iran.
 
The boy travelled to Washington Dulles airport with another family member. His mother was waiting to pick him up when he arrived but the boy was detained for hours, the report said.
 
At a press conference, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said, "The president recognises that it is his duty and obligation to keep this country safe."
 

"And by instituting a process by which we look at these countries over a 90-day period and the process by which the people can come in out of this country to ensure the safety of each and every one of us, I think, is something that makes a heck of a lot of sense," he said.
 
 
"When you look at the 329,000 people (who travelled to the US over the weekend), 109 were inconvenienced for the safety and security of us all," Spicer added.
 
"And to make sure that, if they are a 5-year-old, that maybe they're with their parents and they don't pose a threat," he said, apparently referring to the incident.
 
He asserted that to assume that just because of someone's age or gender or whatever that they do not pose a threat would be "misguided and wrong".
 
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland blasted Trump over the boy's detention for more than four hours saying it happened even though the senator had given authorities advance notice of the boy's arrival. The detainment of the child also sparked outrage online.
 
 
Trump's executive order, signed Friday, temporarily bans travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Syrian refugees are blocked indefinitely.

MORE International ARTICLES

Donald Trump Pleased Nikki Haley First Indian-American Cabinet Official

Donald Trump Pleased Nikki Haley First Indian-American Cabinet Official
US President Donald Trump is pleased that Nikki Haley, sworn in as the US ambassador to the UN, "is our nation's first Indian-American cabinet level officer", his spokesperson Sean Spicer told the media.

Donald Trump Pleased Nikki Haley First Indian-American Cabinet Official

Indian-American Lawmakers Slam Trump's 'Cruel' Immigration Policy

US President Donald Trump's move to amend the existing immigration policies has resulted in widespread protests with Indian-American lawmakers slamming Trump for signing changes that are deemed "anti-immigrant".

Indian-American Lawmakers Slam Trump's 'Cruel' Immigration Policy

Mexican President Calls Off Us Trip Over Border Wall Spat With Trump

Mexican President Calls Off Us Trip Over Border Wall Spat With Trump
Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday cancelled his trip to Washington, following US President Donald Trumps order to begin construction on the border wall.

Mexican President Calls Off Us Trip Over Border Wall Spat With Trump

First Hindu Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Says She Met Assad On Syria Trip

First Hindu Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Says She Met Assad On Syria Trip
The first Hindu elected to the Congress, Hawaiian Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, has said that she met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a secret, "fact-finding" trip to Syria and Lebanon.

First Hindu Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Says She Met Assad On Syria Trip

Indian Businessman To Spend 1 Million Dollars To Help Prisoners In Dubai

Indian Businessman To Spend 1 Million Dollars To Help Prisoners In Dubai
An Indian businessman in the UAE has pledged $1 million (Dh3.6 million) to pay off the debts of expatriates who are jailed here, a newspaper reported.

Indian Businessman To Spend 1 Million Dollars To Help Prisoners In Dubai

With Senate Okay, Nikki Haley Makes History

With Senate Okay, Nikki Haley Makes History
Although she converted to Christianity when she got married, she has continued to attend Sikh religious ceremonies. Her father, Ajit Singh Randhwa, wearing a red turban, sat proudly behind her during the hearings.

With Senate Okay, Nikki Haley Makes History