Noorani: The Detainment Of Iranians At The US Border Is The Result Of Poor Leadership

Iranians Border Issues — In this Oct. 9, 2019 photo, traffic enters Canada from the United States at the Peace Arch Border Crossing, in Blaine, Wash. The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says more than 60 Iranians and Iranian-Americans were detained and questioned at the border crossing over the weekend. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman, however, said no Iranian-Americans were detained or refused entry because of their country of origin.

Arjun Singh is a producer for Boston Public Radio. A California native, Arjun moved to Boston to study international relations at Boston University. Prior to working at WGBH, Arjun worked at a tech company and for a political campaign.

January 08, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

In the wake of the tensions between the U.S. and Iran sparked by the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, dozens of Iranian-Americans were detained at the US-Canada border, sometimes for hours, by border security agents. Though most were released, some reported being detained for more than seven hours without a proper explanation.

To Ali Noorani, the executive director of the National Immigration Forum, the situation displayed the impact of President Trump’s handling of escalated tensions with Iran.

During an interview with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday, Noorani contrasted Trump’s rhetoric during the current standoff with Iran and former president George W. Bush’s message to Muslims in the aftermath of 9/11.

“This is why leadership at the national level that is calm, collected and ready to articulate a constructive message to the American public is so important,” Noorani said. “Even in the case of the tragedy of 9/11 you had President Bush who went to a mosque, who reached out to the Muslim community and said ‘you are here, you are our friends, you are our neighbors.’ We are not seeing that sort of leadership at this moment in time.”