Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
International

US probes reports of Sikh turbans being confiscated at Mexico border

Darpan News Desk IANS, 04 Aug, 2022 11:04 AM
  • US probes reports of Sikh turbans being confiscated at Mexico border

Washington, Aug 4 (IANS) US authorities have said investigations were underway into reports that turbans of Sikh asylum seekers were confiscated after they were detained at the country's border with Mexico, the media reported.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nearly 50 Sikh migrants have had their turbans taken away, the BBC reported.

It said that the turban confiscations "blatantly violate federal law" and are inconsistent with the US Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) own non-discrimination policies.

In a letter sent to CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus on August 1, the ACLU called the seizures "ongoing, serious religious-freedom violations".

Meanwhile, Vanessa Pineda, a lawyer of the ACLU of Arizona, told the BBC that no proper explanation has been given about what, if any, security concerns a turban could raise.

"It's just not acceptable. They need to find another alternative and to stop this. It's dehumanising," she added.

In response, Magnus said the border agency expects its staff to "treat all migrants we encounter with respect", the BBC reported citing A Washington Post report.

"An internal investigation has been opened to address this matter," the CBP Commissioner was quoted as saying.

According to CBP statistics, nearly 13,000 Indian citizens, including many from Punjab, have been detained by Border Patrol officers at the US-Mexico border in the fiscal year that began in October 2021.

Of these, about three-quarters, or nearly 10,000, have been detained in the Border Patrol's Yuma sector, a 202 km expanse of desert and rocky mountains that stretches from California's Imperial Sand Dunes to the border between Arizona's Yuma and Pima counties.

MORE International ARTICLES

Stores kick off Black Friday but pandemic woes linger

Stores kick off Black Friday but pandemic woes linger
Retailers are expected to usher in the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season Friday with bigger crowds than last year in a closer step toward normalcy. But the fallout from the pandemic continues to weigh on businesses and shoppers' minds.

Stores kick off Black Friday but pandemic woes linger

EXPLAINER: What is this new COVID variant in South Africa?

EXPLAINER: What is this new COVID variant in South Africa?
Maybe. As of noon Friday, travelers arriving in the U.K. from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini and Zimbabwe will have to self-isolate for 10 days. European Union nations also moved quickly on Friday to try to stop air travel from southern Africa.

EXPLAINER: What is this new COVID variant in South Africa?

Telangana youth dies in road accident in US

Telangana youth dies in road accident in US
His family has appealed to the Indian government to help in bringing his body home. According to delayed information reaching his family members, Mandali Shekhar (28) died when a speeding car hit him at Ellicott City in Maryland state on November 19.

Telangana youth dies in road accident in US

5 dead after vehicle rams into US city parade

5 dead after vehicle rams into US city parade
At least five people were killed and more than 40 others injured after a vehicle rammed into a crowd at an annual holiday parade in Waukesha, a city in the US state of Wisconsin, authorities said on Monday.

5 dead after vehicle rams into US city parade

Head Granthi at Kabul's Gurdwara Karte Parwan among 2 evacuated from Af

Head Granthi at Kabul's Gurdwara Karte Parwan among 2 evacuated from Af
Satveer Singh, an Indian citizen serving as Head Granthi at Gurdwara Karte Parwan, Kabul, for the past twenty one years and Sorjit Singh, Afghan Citizen hailing from Khost Province and caretaker of Gurdwara situated there, were evacuated on Thursday.

Head Granthi at Kabul's Gurdwara Karte Parwan among 2 evacuated from Af

1 killed, 6 injured in gas cylinder blast in Pakistan's Karachi

1 killed, 6 injured in gas cylinder blast in Pakistan's Karachi
The incident happened inside a multi-storeyed building in Lyari area of Karachi, the provincial capital of southern Sindh province, police officials told local media.

1 killed, 6 injured in gas cylinder blast in Pakistan's Karachi