Nov. 1--They risked their lives helping U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
But six Iraqi-Americans from Michigan say they were racially profiled when they were pulled off a flight in August and accused of being a security risk because of their appearance and spoke Arabic. The men were on their way to Detroit after helping train U.S. military personnel in California.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday against American Airlines, the men say that the company's employees grounded a flight from San Diego to Chicago and detained them after the flight crew thought they were security threats.
American Airlines spokesman, Tim Wagner, said today in an emailed statement that "we can not comment on the lawsuit because of our policies regarding pending litigation."
The men were interrogated in front of other passengers and then detained for more than an hour.
"I'd give my life for this country to make sure U.S. soldiers are safe, and this is the way we get treated," David Al-Watan, of Dearborn, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said today at his attorney's law firm.
"We feel so violated," said Talal Cholagh, of Sterling Heights, one of the plaintiffs.
The Iraqi-Americans all worked for contractors in assisting and training U.S. soldiers.
The federal suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit by attorney Lawrence Garcia and assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul Borman.
Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO at [email protected]
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