Close X
Saturday, November 2, 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

Harris' dual identities challenge America's race labels

Harris' dual identities challenge America's race labels
It was just 20 years ago that the U.S. census began to allow Americans to identify as more than one race. And now, the country is on the threshold of seeing the name of Kamala Harris -- proud daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother -- on the national ballot.

Harris' dual identities challenge America's race labels

California fires claim 6 lives, threaten thousands of homes

California fires claim 6 lives, threaten thousands of homes
Sky-darkening wildfires that took at least six lives and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes blazed throughout California on Friday as firefighting resources strained under the vastness of the infernos authorities were trying to control.

California fires claim 6 lives, threaten thousands of homes

UN: Discussions with Russia on COVID-19 vaccine under way

UN: Discussions with Russia on COVID-19 vaccine under way
The World Health Organization’s Europe office said it has begun discussions with Russia to try to obtain more information about the experimental COVID-19 vaccine the country recently approved.

UN: Discussions with Russia on COVID-19 vaccine under way

Picture book on Kamala Harris coming Aug. 25

Picture book on Kamala Harris coming Aug. 25
That didn't take long: Just weeks after making history as the running mate for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris will be the subject of a new picture book.

Picture book on Kamala Harris coming Aug. 25

Will you get a refund if COVID-19 closes your campus?

Will you get a refund if COVID-19 closes your campus?
Many colleges are welcoming students back for in-person learning and dormitory living this fall semester. Looming over everything: Campuses could shut back down at any time.

Will you get a refund if COVID-19 closes your campus?

Crowd in thousands descends to a pool party in Wuhan without masks

Crowd in thousands descends to a pool party in Wuhan without masks
A story that is cause for concern and shock. Thousands in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus originated attended an electronic dance music pool party without wearing masks and ignored COVID-19 regulations of physical distancing completely. 

Crowd in thousands descends to a pool party in Wuhan without masks