The American Civil Liberties Union accuses the US Border Patrol of racial profiling and the unlawful confiscation of Sikh men’s turbans.
Allegations by ACLU
The US Border Patrol agents are responsible for checking the passports of immigrants once they cross the Mexican border. This particular incident, which the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has alleged the Border Patrol for committing, occurred on 18 May 2022 in Yuma, Arizona.
According to ACLU’s claims, the Yuma sector’s Border Patrol have been infringing on the rights of Sikh asylum seekers to practice their religion by having them remove their turbans and confiscating them under the guise of security measures.
These dozens of Sikh men who sought asylum in the United States were subjected to discrimination and a clear violation of their civil rights when the Border Patrol agents in Arizona breached government policies to confiscate the turbans of these men.
This allegation was detailed by ACLU on 1 August 2022 in a letter making a call for the end of this practice. Representatives of the union condemned these acts that they deemed unlawful and “serious religious-freedom violations,” demanding a thorough investigation from US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, Chris Magnus.
This letter recounts a total of 64 such instances being reported in the Border Patrol’s Yuma sector this year alone, although most of these instances were reported to have taken place in the past two months. These reports were made by other Sikh asylum seekers who were released from custody and sought help from a welcome center in Phoenix.
Turban is a symbol of faith for Sikh people
Sikh is reportedly the fifth-largest religion in the world, according to the Sikh Coalition, with over 5,00,000 Sikh Americans who practice Sikhism. Most men who practice this religion place a significant amount of value on their hair to respect and preserve the body in the way that God created therefore they tend to not cut their hair or shave.
Turbans are a symbol of faith and religious tradition sacred to the Sikhs, a sign of respect to cover their heads in public and religious spaces. It is sacrilege by the Border Patrol to directly rob these Sikh men of a symbol of their faith along with the refusal to return them.
Sikh men have constantly had to fight for their right to practice their religion freely, particularly when it comes to wearing their turbans and maintaining their beards. In fact, Sikh people are currently suing the US Marine Corps for the same right.
“By confiscating and failing to return Sikh individuals’ turbans, CBP directly interferes with their religious practice and forces them to violate their religious beliefs,” the ACLU’s letter says. ACLU makes it a point to stress the importance of the Border Patrol Agency’s policy requiring officers to “remain cognizant of an individual’s religious beliefs while accomplishing an enforcement action in a dignified and respectful manner.”
“We’re talking about Sikh migrants specifically who are fleeing their countries because of religious persecution…making a very traumatic journey to the United States, and upon entering are then forced to remove a sacred piece of their religion, a core tenet of their belief system.
Partner organizations who are working directly with migrants reported the uptick in Sikh asylum-seekers turbans being taken. The practice is “dehumanizing and humiliating,” says Vanessa Pineda, an immigrants’ rights staff attorney for the ACLU of Arizona, when interviewed by CNN.
CBP statement on conducting an internal investigation
Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Commissioner, Chris Magnus, has released a statement wherein he states that an internal investigation on the matter that has been raised is being conducted. “We take allegations of this nature very seriously.
This issue was raised in June and steps were immediately taken to address the situation. Our expectation is that CBP employees treat all migrants we encounter with respect. An internal investigation has been opened to address this matter,” states Magnus.
The agency says it’s provided additional guidance to field leadership “reiterating the expectation that personnel exercises particular care when handling property items of a religious nature.” It also says the agency’s procedures allow its personnel to discard items “that pose a clear health or safety hazard.”
ACLU representatives have stated in their letter that there has been barely any evidence that shows any concrete action taken on the issue despite the matter having been raised at meetings in June and July. “We keep seeing it happen. … All the efforts locally that our partner organizations took, there’s been no change.
And in fact, there was an increase these past couple of months. The actual number of people impacted may be higher since the rights groups are made aware only of self-reported incidents,” says Pineda.
