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Houston Chronicle - April 6, 2005
Lawmaker targeted for 'looking Muslim'
By ROBERT CROWE
A Houston lawmaker thinks he may have been the target of ethnic or religious profiling at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Palm Sunday as he prepared to fly to Washington, D.C.
Al Green, a Democratic congressman, was pulled out of line by airport security officers March 20 as he waited to enter the primary security area. "It could have been (a random security search), but I cannot say that it was random," Green said.
Officers escorted him to a separate area, where he was questioned and searched before being permitted to enter the main security area. The experience left him with a feeling that he was targeted the way Muslims say they have been profiled since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Whether it is real or imagined, I can tell you the perception exists that there is profiling taking place," he said.
Local Muslims recently met with Green, sharing similar incidents of what they said was profiling at Bush. At that meeting, he said he had "been accosted for looking Muslim," in the past.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers handle security for international flights, while the Transportation Security Administration oversees security checks for those entering the airport's gates.
"(Green) could have been selected for a secondary screening based on travel patterns or, perhaps, a random selection," said Andrea McCauley, a TSA spokeswoman.
At the same time, customs officers are looking closely at certain flights.
Houstonian Gulz Joya said he has unfairly been held for up to six hours for questioning on five occasions as he has returned from Pakistan and other countries.
On four occasions, officers photocopied every item he had in his billfold and briefcase, he said. Joya, who has dark skin, said he was the only person targeted for questioning on some flights.
Syed Izfar, a Houston attorney, said customs officers primarily appear to target flights on Pakistan International Airlines….
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/metropolitan/3122304
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