OLYMPIA, Wash. — Governor Jay Inslee is stepping up his criticism of Customs and Border Protection over reports that Iranian-Americans were detained at the border crossing in Blaine over the weekend.
He joined Democratic U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal in saying CBP denials are not credible.
Kirkland resident Negah Hekmati is among what Inslee says are scores of people who claim they were held for hours.
CBP blames high border traffic and reduced staffing for delays, and says no one was officially detained.
Inslee says in a statement that it was a detention “regardless of whether the waiting area has bars on the windows,” and likens the situation to when Japanese-Americans were detained in Washington state during World War II.