A CNN editor has filed a lawsuit against Trump’s travel ban, after being detained at Atlanta’s airport over the weekend because of the controversial executive order.
Mohammed Tawfeeq, an Iraqi citizen and US green card holder since 2013, was returning from Iraq on Sunday following a CNN assignment in his role as manager for CNN’s international desk.
Officials at Atlanta Hartsfield/Jackson international airport told him he could be refused entry because of the executive order, questioned him on why he was in Iraq and then “told Mr Tawfeeq to wait because they needed to seek ‘an email’ concerning whether he would be allowed into the United States”, according to the lawsuit filed in the northern district of Georgia federal court on Monday.
He landed at 7.20pm on Sunday, at least an hour after the Department of Homeland Security secretary, John Kelly, released a statement saying that green card holders were not subject to the travel ban.
Officials have used Trump’s executive order “to subject returning residents like Mr Tawfeeq to inappropriate exercises of discretion with regard to their right to return to the United States, and to lengthy delays and interrogations at ports of entry”, the lawsuit argues.
CNN did not respond to questions about whether the media organization was financially supporting the lawsuit, but in a statement, a spokesperson said:
This is a basic request to clarify and assert his rights under the law. We support him in this effort and hope it’s resolved quickly.
The lawsuit names the DHS, Kelly, US Customs and Border Protection and the US Department of State among the defendants and argues that they exceeded their authority.
Tawfeeq was carrying a green card valid until 2026 when he was stopped at the airport. He had left the US in October for a CNN story in northern Iraq, before spending time with family members and returning on 29 January 2017.
The case will be heard by Judge Timothy C Batten Sr, a George W Bush appointee.
Tawfeeq’s LinkedIn profile describes him as having more than 13 years’ experience as a journalist and editor covering North Africa and the Middle East for CNN. He was a former Baghdad bureau chief for CNN from 2011 to 2013, before moving to Atlanta, Georgia.
“He has filed hundreds of reports from the field, has worked alongside prominent CNN journalists such as Christiane Amanpour and Anderson Cooper,” the lawsuit reads, adding that he had covered numerous major world events such as the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, and the rise of Isis.
