Border agents read a Muslim traveler’s private journals during a search

Evidence

Weeks before his appearance in Los Angeles Superior Court, a naturalization and immigration agent had moved to deny Shishim’s citizenship petition on the grounds that his “Arab identity,” synonymous with Muslim identity, did not meet the legal mandate of whiteness. Judge Hutton seemed persuaded by the immigration examiner’s position, which deemed immigrants from the region Shishim originated from as hostile to American democracy and values, unassimilable, and Muslim unless proven otherwise. However, although Shishim was an Arab, he was also a Christian. In fact, the overwhelming majority of Arabs in the United States in 1909 were Christians. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 179 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Immigration agents presumed Middle Easterners Muslim and therefore unassimilable — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 179

Related

• Immigration agents presumed Middle Easterners Muslim and therefore unassimilable (similarity 0.85)
• Border agents read Muslim travelers’ journals purely because of religious identity (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Immigration agents presumed Middle Easterners Muslim and therefore unassimilable #exemplifies (0.60) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 179