A welcome and surprising bit of anti-dhimmitude, this. From AP, with thanks to all who sent this in:
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A judge Thursday refused to prohibit U.S. border officers from conducting potentially lengthy security checks on Muslim-Americans on their way home from a religious conference in Canada that begins Friday.
The New York Civil Liberties Union sought the court action on behalf of five New York residents who were among dozens of people fingerprinted, photographed, questioned and delayed for up to six hours at the border following last year’s “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” convention in Toronto.
U.S. District Judge William Skretny, while characterizing last year’s stops as “understandably frustrating,” disagreed with the NYCLU’s contention that they violated the group’s constitutional rights to practice religion and avoid unlawful searches.
“Plaintiffs were delayed for an extended period of time and subjected to unexplained inspection techniques that were inconvenient and made them feel uncomfortable,” Skretny wrote. “The government readily admits that plaintiffs’ experience at the border was not ideal … As unfortunate as this incident may have been, I find that it was not unconstitutional.”
The NYCLU sought the injunction preventing similar inspections based solely on attendance at this year’s conference as part of a lawsuit that also sought the destruction of any personal information collected during the stops.
In addition to denying the injunction, Skretny dismissed the case altogether.