A federal district court judge in Buffalo, New York has rejected the request of several Muslim-Americans for an order that would prohibit border agents from stopping and searching individuals based solely on their attendance at the upcoming Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference in Toronto. (See prior posting.) The Associated Press reported that on Thursday U.S. District Judge William Skretny dismissed the suit that was brought to prevent a repeat of last year's border problems. While characterizing last year's stops as "understandably frustrating," he said that the searches did not violated the attendees' constitutional rights to practice religion and avoid unlawful searches. He wrote: "Plaintiffs were delayed for an extended period of time and subjected to unexplained inspection techniques that were inconvenient and made them feel uncomfortable. 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."
On its website, the New York Civil Liberties Union, along with a release decrying the decision, has an intake form for use by anyone detained after attending this year's conference.
UPDATE: The full opinion in Tabbaa v. Chertoff is now available at 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38189 (WD NY, Dec. 22, 2005).
