CBS Evening News Reports On Religious Questions Being Asked By Border Patrol As A Result Of Muslim Ban

Fadwa Alaoui: Border Patrol Asked "Are You Muslim … What Do You Think About Donald Trump?”

From the February 14 edition of CBS Evening News:

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SCOTT PELLEY (HOST):  A federal judge in Virginia is the latest to block the Trump administration's travel ban. The judge found that the president's order amounts to discrimination against Muslims. Canadians who are Muslims say they're finding evidence of that already at the U.S. Border. Jericka Duncan has that story. 

FADWA ALAOUI: thought that I was arrested for something that I didn't do. 

JERICKA DUNCAN: Canadian citizens Fadwa Alaoui and her cousin Fadela Boutaleb were recently on one of their quick shopping trips across the border. This time they were celebrating Alaoui's five-year-old son's last chemo treatment, but when they arrived at the U.S. border in High Gate Springs, Vermont, the women say they were asked repeatedly about their religion. 

ALAOUI: He told me, are you Muslim, right? I answered yes. 

DUNCAN: Had you ever been asked before? 

ALAOUI: No, no, no. Never. No. That was the first time that I was asked that unexpected question. 

DUNCAN: Did the agent ask you about your political views? 

ALAOUI: He asked me, what do you think about Donald Trump?  I told him, it's not my business. 

DUNCAN: Alaoui says they were told to hand over their cell phones and passwords. She says officers would have seen several inspirational speeches and prayer videos. Fadela Boutaleb says she was asked, “do Moroccans like Americans?” After nearly five hours of waiting, they were denied entry. The border officer explained why. 

ALAOUI: They found videos and concern against us. 

DUNCAN: Videos that were concerning, against the United States? 

ALAOUI: Yes. 

DUNCAN:  Alaoui says she's now too afraid to even visit her parents who live in Chicago. 

ALAOUI: I think the message that he wants to tell me [is] that you are not welcome in our country. 

DUNCAN: A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said they could not discuss the case, but they say they do not discriminate on the basis of religion and its top priority, Scott, is preventing terrorists from entering the country. 

Related:

Wash. Post: Federal judge in Virginia issues strong rebuke of Trump travel ban

Previously:

A Refugee Tells CNN How He Loves America After Escaping Persecution In Syria

The Muslim Ban Is A Religious Test Built On A False Premise

Watch ACLU’s Anthony Romero Explain Why Trump’s Muslim Ban Is Unconstitutional And Illegal