FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida: A lawyer says the son of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali was detained by immigration officials at a Florida airport.
Chris Mancini tells the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky that 44-year-old Muhammad Ali Jr. and his mother Khalilah Camacho-Ali, the second wife of Muhammad Ali, arrived at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Feb. 7 after returning from Jamaica.
Camacho-Ali was released after she showed US Customs agents a photo of herself with her ex-husband.
Ali Jr. however had no such photo — and according to Mancini was held for nearly two hours and repeatedly asked “Where did you get your name from?” and “Are you Muslim?“
When he said that he — like his father — was a Muslim, the agents asked further probing questions.
“To the Ali family, it’s crystal clear that this is directly linked to Mr. Trump’s efforts to ban Muslims from the United States,” Mancini told the Courier-Journal, a reference to President Donald Trump’s late January executive order imposing a 90-day entry ban for citizens of seven Muslim majority countries.
The travel ban has since been halted by a US federal court.
Mancini said that he and the Ali family are trying to find out how many other people were stopped for similar questioning, and are considering a federal lawsuit.
US Customs and Border Protection officials say they “cannot discuss individual travelers; however, all international travelers arriving in the US are subject to CBP inspection.”
Muhammad Ali, one of the iconic 20th century sports heroes, died after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease on June 3. He was 74.
Ali was celebrated as much for his three world heavyweight titles as for his civil rights battles outside the ring.
In 1964 Ali dropped his birth name of Cassius Clay when he converted to Islam.
The Louisville, Kentucky native was married four times he was survived by seven daughters and two sons.
Muhammad Ali’s son detained at airport: ‘Are you Muslim?’
Muhammad Ali’s son detained at airport: ‘Are you Muslim?’
Russia will examine Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ invite: Putin
- Invites were sent to dozens of world leaders with a request for $1 billion for a permanent seat on the board
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said Russia would study US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “Board of Peace.”
“The Russian foreign ministry has been charged with studying the documents that were sent to us and to consult on the topic with our strategic partners,” Putin said during a televised government meeting. “It is only after that we’ll be able to reply to the invitation.”
He said that Russia could pay the billion dollars being asked for permanent membership “from the Russian assets frozen under the previous American administration.”
He added that the assets could also be used “to reconstruct the territories damaged by the hostilities, after the conclusion of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.”
Invites were sent to dozens of world leaders with a request for $1 billion for a permanent seat on the board.
Although originally meant to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the board’s charter does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian coastal enclave and appears to want to rival the United Nations, drawing the ire of some US allies including France.
