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Iraniha family
Kevin Iraniha, after graduating from an international law program in Costa Rica, with his brothers Jahan, far left, and Shervin, second from left. His father, Nasser Iraniha, is on the right.
A U.S. citizen from San Diego who was barred from boarding a flight home from Costa Rica — apparently because he has been placed on the U.S. no-fly list — was attempting to fly to Mexico and cross into the United States by land on Thursday, attorneys familiar with his case said.
Kevin Iraniha, 27, had just completed his master's degree in international law at a United Nations-affiliated Peace University in Costa Rica and was preparing to return home on Tuesday when he was refused boarding, according to Munia Jabbar, a staff attorney with the Council on American Islamic Relations, or CAIR, a non-profit civil rights group.
Iraniha went to the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica, where he was questioned extensively by FBI agents about his religious beliefs, his attendance and contacts at mosques in Costa Rica, and whether he was involved in activities that presented a threat, Jabbar said.
Iraniha was born and raised in San Diego. His father is an Iranian-born U.S. citizen, and his mother is a native-born U.S. citizen.
The officials indicated he was on the U.S. no-fly list of people who are prohibited from boarding domestic flights or international flights that enter U.S. airspace. The list has grown from just a few names prior to Sept. 11, 2001, when Islamic extremists used commercial flights to attack the United States, to a roster of about 20,000 names, including about 500 U.S. citizens in 2012.
In order to get home, Iraniha booked an alternative flight to Mexico City and onward to Tijuana, and planned to drive over the border to San Diego.
Kevin Iraniha could not immediately be reached by phone, but his brother Jahan said that he had received messages confirming arrival in Mexico City and imminent boarding of a flight for Tijuana. Family members were planning to go to the Mexican border to meet Iraniha Thursday evening, according to Jahan Iraniha, who declined further comment until Friday.
"At this moment we are trying to get him safely home, and we will look at the details and questions in coming days," said Hanif Mohebi, executive director of CAIR San Diego.
Dozens of Americans — primarily Muslims — have been stranded overseas by the no-fly list. As in Iraniha’s case, many discover they are on the list only when they are at an airport trying to check in for a flight.
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The no-fly list does not bar American citizens from returning to the United States by land.
But Iraniha’s ability to return is still uncertain, and there are few precedents for attempting to do so.
Another American who found he was on the no-fly list when attempting to return to the U.S. from Bogota, Colombia, was Raymond Knaeble. After landing in Mexico City in May 2010, with plans to travel onward by land, Knaeble was interrogated by Mexican officials for 15 hours and then deported to Bogota, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
According to the court documents, filed on behalf of 15 plaintiffs challenging the U.S. no-fly list, Knaeble finally got back to the United States from Colombia in August 2010 by traveling by bus for 12 days.
The no-fly list, maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center under the FBI, includes "known or reasonably suspected terrorists," according to the FBI website.
A background check showed no criminal background for Iraniha.
In 2010, he helped organize a peace protest to counter a planned Quran burning by anti-Muslim activists, according to the Ocean Bay Rag, a small publication in Southern California.
Iraniha spoke to the Union Tribune of San Diego after he was initially barred from his flight and questioned by the FBI about his religious beliefs and affiliations.
"It's discrimination," he told the publication. "I was shocked; it was really weird to have such questions being asked. First and foremost, I'm an American, and secondly, I don't believe in violence."
The publication said Iraniha — a self-described peace activist and "beach boy" — plans to take some type of action, possibly filing a lawsuit.
Iraniha's two brothers and his father, who had come to Costa Rica to attend his graduation, were all allowed to fly home to the United States.
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Leave a Comment:
This is shameful. How pathetic.
Something is amiss. Why are they being stranded overseas??? Didn't they take a flight, to get there? Why aren't they being denied boarding their departing flight? Seems like a loophole in the no-fly list checking, to me.
This "No Fly List" is getting rediculous. Remember in March 2004 when they put SENATOR TED KENNEDY on it!! It took them 3 weeks to remove his name. Gee, I wonder if I'll get on it by mistake "D. Jones".
War was declared against the US, we shall respond, no fly lists seem to be part of it so grow a pair and get over it. It would be smart to think before you travel overseas now. It would be nice to see Americans thinking in the first place! Profiling is an intergral component of security, it wouldn't hurt to conduct a risk assessment prior to travelling to some areas and with some nationalities.
I think until the full story comes out, I'll side with the FBI on this one. Bet anything that he had contact with a known terrorist even if he didn't realize it. They may be trying to get a feel for how much the FBI knows about terrorists in Costa Rica
Well, at least he wasn't a terrorist BEFORE we made his life a living hell!
That's because it's all a false sense of security. The government and all of the media outlets want everyone terrified of everyone else. That's when they get the complete control.
"Fear will keep the local systems in line." - Grand Moff Tarkin, Star Wars Episode IV
It would appear that governments throughout the ages have taken their governing lessons from the Empire: rule through fear. As long as the people are afraid and are looking to your government for protection, they will pay any price you demand for said "protection."
In the early 50s, I was a sales manager for Singer Sewing machine compnay. Many of our custoners were Japanese recently freed from the American Concentration Camps. While these American citizens were thought to be a threat by our government, the Singer company policy as to Japanese Americans wishing to buy a sewing machine was that because they were so honest an ethnic group, we were allowed to take their word regarding making payments on any machine bought on time. No signature required. We just gave them what they wanted, explained the payment requirements and not one single Japanese Family failed to pay the macines off on time.
So much for ethnic profiling.
I have muslim tenants all the time. They are some of the most well-educated, well-behaved and well-intentioned tenants I have ever had.
Extreme caution should be used when allowing muslims anywhere near crowds.
momlags i hope to tell that is what is happening and i hope more people in this WORLD is starting to see what is being done more and more everyday !!!! And we get together and put a Stop to It !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! QUICK !!!
Normally I take a hard line/kill em all and let god sort them out attitude on this kind of stuff, but, come on Uncle Sam, either you have dirt on this kid or you don't ? Fess up and spill the beans or let the darn kid get back home, and more importantly, back to the beach !
Most of the blame for this falls squarely on Repugnicans. They claim to stand for freedom and self-determination -- that is, unless some paranoid perceives an imaginary threat to the state. If Repugnicans had their way, jack-booted government thugs would be demanding your "papers" at every turn, just as in Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia and Mao's China.
When or should that be "IF" he gets back he can talk to the 18 month old, the four year old and the six year old that is on the NO fly list. Nothing like Paranoia for profit.
Find who put him on a no fly list and all involved fired, the system is no good.
The big hole in this story is why he was on the list. On purpose? By mistake? Very good reason or stupid clerical error? I would guess people are on the list for any number of reasons but until there is a follow up, I have nothing to say.
So I guess I should delete this post.
Why did I type this?
And more importantly, who, in fact, let the dogs out? Who, who, who, who?
Dear Mr. Kevin Iraniha -
As a citizen of the United States of America, I apologize to you for the violation of your constitutional rights.
Welcome Home!!!
Larry Libater
Ah yes, the land of the free and the home of the brave. The Constitution has been eviscerated and we let it happen like the sheep we have become. We argue about 'Democrats' versus 'Republicans'. We just don't get it. There is no difference. The employees have taken over and we let them. Scum floats to the top and slime sinks to the bottom and here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
And your point is?
This is another of multiple incidents and examples of our freedoms eroding under the FREEDOM ACT. I am all for the protections put in place to protect Americans but with restraint and regulation. Just adding someone's name to a list because it sounds right or similar to a known or possible terrorist without photo ID or description is ludicrous. If an individual is thought to be a terrorist, he or she should be questioned, brought in, investigated etc...and if really a terrorist or with terrorist ties, then don't let them back in the country via air, land or sea. An individual can believe in or sympathize with whatever fundamental beliefs they want as long as they don't break the laws or become a threat to America. I thank the intelligence communities that keep us safe by trying to keep a repeat of 911 from happening but it can't result in even one, moreless dozens or more, US citizens losing rights and presumed guilty and left out to hang or dry. Innoncent until proven guilty. If not a US citizen, then kick them out of our country or renounce their immigrant visa status. US citizens have rights that should not be trampled on. This young man should have been allowed to fly and if a threat, then picked up and interrogated once in the USA. Just throwing a list of names out to the world's airports with a do not fly listing, is a travesty and very irresponsible or sloppy way to do business. That list should be small and only confirmed terrorists not just individuals with Muslim names or that study Islam or belong to those groups. What religion or last name or color of skin is next....
The article clearly states he is a US citizen, born and raised in the USA.
This is eerily reminiscent of Eastern Europe circa 1980. You say something bad about the government and you are summoned to the police station where you have to write a bucketful of ink explaining what you meant, who you met with, if you had relatives abroad. Just because the guy organized a protest against Quran burning. I am glad he has his family's support and hopefully he will make it safely home.
And our president got the Nobel Peace Prize? Disgusting !
If you're on the "no fly list", how is it O.K. to drive across the border? Such theatrics!
What I find stupid about this ordeal is that if these people are suspicious enough to put on the no fly list, And some of them are American citizens, what's so damn hard about knocking on their door and conducting your stupid investigation? I mean these people are in this country, at home, going to school, and then get screwed when they leave the country and try to get back in.
The FBI is always knocking on doors doing interviews and background checks on people. I had it done twice for some government related work, and participated by being interviewed at home for my neighbor. Get off your lazy rears and go talk to these people before needlessly inconveniencing them. How hard is that?
So.. He went to the embassy and was "questioned extensively about his religious beliefs.". Um... As a native born US citizen, can you be legally questioned about your religious beliefs by American security forces? Oh.. I guess the constitution ceases to apply if you're abroad and of the wrong ethnicity? Wow.
All one has to do is recall the displacement and internment of all of the Japanese American citizens along with the legal immigrant from Japan during WWII. This no-fly list is a similar veiled method of isolating mostly Muslim Americans. America has a rich history of displacing those that they don't like. One of these groups were Native Americans being removed from the land they inhabited long before the Europeans invaded THEIR country and then marched across the land and forced to live in a land where they were not able to sustain their traditional way of life.