Iran Press/America: Despite reports that up to 200 travelers of Iranian descent were detained at the Blaine Peace Arch crossing on Jan. 4-5, US Customs Border Protection (CBP) has denied such allegations.
However, a memo obtained by CBC News instructs US border officers in the Seattle Field Office to cast a wide net when interrogating travelers, following the US assassination of 'Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani' on Jan. 3. The Seattle Field Office covers the Canada-US border from Washington State to Minnesota.
According to the memo, the target list included people between the ages of 20 and 58 with various links to Iran.
Blaine-based immigration lawyer Len Saunders believes he was sent the memo because he has been outspoken about the alleged treatment of Iranian-born travelers at the border, calling it unconstitutional.
Iranian-Canadians say they were detained, interrogated at US border crossing
"Somebody with an interest in what happened had enough courage to come to my office and drop off the smoking gun," he said.
A former CBP officer who worked in the Seattle Field Office viewed the memo and told CBC News it appears legitimate. CBP declined to comment on its validity, but never declared it a fake.
The memo instructs border officers to vet "any other nationality that has traveled to Iran," which would include any Iranian-American or Canadian who has paid a return visit to their birth country.
Security expert Phil Gurski has viewed the memo and said it's difficult to determine precisely whom US border officers were directed to stop and question.
And because the net appears to be cast so wide, border officers likely rounded up any traveler with ties to Iran, he said.
"It doesn't matter if you're a Canadian or American, you were born [in Iran], ergo you're an Iranian, ergo, you're a potential threat" Gurski added, "It targets a wide variety of people that is both inefficient and unnecessary."
Blaine, Wash.-based Immigration lawyer Len Saunders alleges U.S. Customs and Border Protection's treatment of Iranian-born travelers was unconstitutional.
Last week, lawyer Saunders shared with CBC News an email written by a CBP officer which alleged that US border officers were told to question and detain Iranian-born travelers.
The officer also said in his email that after the detainment of Iranian-born travelers made national news on Jan. 5, the new directive was suspended.
Saunders claims the leaked document is further proof that Iranian-born Canadians and Americans were unjustly detained at the border. He also said that all Canadians should care about what happened because, depending on world events, they could be on the next list.
"It's a slippery slope," he said. "The American government needs to be held accountable for these kinds of actions."
205
Read More:
Commentary: US hostility continues with interrogation and expulsion of Iranians
Iranian top stem cell scientist in critical condition in US prison
