ACLU accuses border patrol agents of confiscating turbans from Sikh asylum-seekers

Civil rights advocates are blasting U.S. board patrol agents for allegedly seizing turbans from Sikh asylum-seekers at the southern border.

The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection accusing officials of “serious religious-freedom violations in the Yuma Border Patrol Sector.”

The letter, first obtained by The Intercept and Arizona Luminaria, was addressed to Commissioner Chris Magnus and cited more than 60 reports of the practice between January and July 2022 — with nearly 50 cases reported just in the last two months.

A US Border Patrol officer stands guard at a gap in the border wall separating Algodones, Mexico, from Yuma, Arizona, on May 16, 2022. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/)

CBP agents “are confiscating turbans from Sikh individuals during asylum processing,” ACLU officials wrote.

“In the last two months alone, our organizational partners in Arizona have documented nearly 50 cases of asylees arriving from Yuma who reported that their religious headwear had been taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and never returned or replaced,” they added.

The ACLU wants the commissioner to “promptly investigate these civil rights violations” and to direct agents to “immediately cease these unlawful practices.”

The organization also wants to set up a meeting “to discuss your plan to remedy the situation,” in the meantime.

“These practices blatantly violate federal law,” ACLU officials wrote. “They are also inconsistent with CBP’s own national standards and contrary to the agency’s non-discrimination policy, which states that ‘CBP employees must treat all individuals with dignity and respect,” which includes respecting people’s individual rights regarding freedom of religion.”

The ACLU of Arizona called the practice “reprehensible.”

“The faith and dignity of Sikh migrants at the border must be respected,” the group tweeted. “That’s why we’ve sent a letter to the Yuma sector seeking that they immediately cease this unlawful policy.”

Magnus told The Washington Post that the agency takes the accusations seriously, and that the matter is being investigated.

“Our expectation is that CBP employees treat all migrants we encounter with respect,” the commissioner said. “An internal investigation has been opened to address this matter.”