By AP
SOUTHFIELD, MI –
A Muslim rights advocacy group says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has agreed to investigate its complaints that border agents have harassed dozens of U.S. Muslims who were returning from Canada.
The Southfield, Mich., office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says it got a letter from a Homeland Security official saying the agency takes such civil rights violation complaints "very seriously" and will investigate.
Council lawyer Lena Masri said Wednesday it welcomes the federal government's decision to investigate allegations of "civil rights violations and ethnic and religious profiling."
The Associated Press made email and phone requests for comment from the Department of Homeland Security.
The civil rights group says people crossing the border have been detained and questioned about their prayer habits and those who attend their mosques.