Australian parliamentarian denied access to US

Warrigal

Warrigal

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Location
Sydney, Australia
Why did this happen? Why was an Australian member of parliament, traveling on an Australian passport with a valid visa in the company of colleagues on a study tour, stopped at the border, not by homeland security, but by airline employees?

Lebanon is not one of the countries in the President's travel ban so why was he refused entry? I'm interested in real answers, not just guesses.


http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/...sed-victorian-mp-khalil-eideh-denied-entry-us

A Victorian state Labor MP of Muslim faith has been refused entry to the United States, despite the US Embassy in Canberra granting him an A2 diplomatic visa four weeks ago, SBS World News understands.

Khalil Eideh, who was born in Lebanon, was not allowed to join a group of parliamentary colleagues on a flight from Vancouver to Denver in the United States.

Staff members at Mr Khalil’s electorate office were initially unable to reach their MP and could not confirm his whereabouts around midday on Friday. SBS World News now understands Mr Eideh is either already on a flight back home to Australia, or will be soon, cutting short his official study trip.

“The first we heard that there was a problem was when a United Airlines staff member told Khalil that he wasn’t able to board the plane,” Sex Party MP Fiona Patten, who was with Mr Eideh at the time, told SBS World News from Denver.

“He was completely confused. And then, as it played out a bit further, he became really upset, as anyone would,” she said. “He has been denied entry into the United States.”

Liberal MP Martin Dixon, Labor MP Geoff Howard and Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Rick Nugent are also on the study trip. The group had been in Europe and Canada studying drug laws and were due to fly to Denver for the final leg when Mr Eideh was blocked at the airport.

Lebanon, where Mr Eideh was born, is not one of the countries that US president Donald Trump is attempting to include in a travel ban on a number of Muslim-majority nations.
Ms Patten said the group had sent their passports to the US Embassy in Canberra, which granted them A2 visas around four weeks ago.

“At no point was there any notification to the parliament, or to Khalil, or to our delegation … that there had been a change of mind by the US government,” she said. “For this to happen and for him to be notified by United Airlines staff was devastating. Had some error occurred - why weren’t we notified? Why was it the fact that United Airlines knew and we didn’t?”

Ms Patten said airline staff did not offer an explanation.

“I think this is frightening, and frankly I look forward to hearing why on earth they would do something like this to an Australian member of parliament.”

The US Embassy in Canberra and United Airlines have been contacted for comment.
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See post #3 for more info
 

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I've found out bit more. He was born in Lebanon of Syrian parents and has dual Syrian/Australian citizenship.
He has also made numerous trips to Syria. He is an Alawite Muslim, same as Assad.

This would be sufficient to deny him a visa. It's just a pity that it wasn't done at the beginning of the process.
 

why are you asking this forum? i have no information as to what the hell our stupid government is doing.
 
Guessing here is all we can do under this administration. In the era of Trump we don't always observe the rule of law.
 
Deucemoi said:
why are you asking this forum? i have no information as to what the hell our stupid government is doing.
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Short answer - genuine curiosity and I thought maybe someone on this forum might have inside knowledge on border security matters.

The Australian media wasn't very informative last time I looked but I found some answers on a UK website.
 
Further information reveals that he has been a supporter of Assad.
My intuition is telling me that Australian border security has been talking to their American counterparts.

If this is the case, then it is a good thing,
 
I was responding to this

I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it.
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IMO the two events are unconnected. The men arrested in Sydney are most probably supporters of ISIL and the Victorian parliamentarian is an Assad supporter. Assad and ISIL are fighting each other.

The red flags regarding terrorism are up all the time at the moment. The security people are always on alert and, as I indicated in an earlier post, there is considerable co-operation at an international level. I suspect that the US border security received background information on Eideh from Australian sources.
 
For anyone still interested, here is more information about the plot to down a plane in Australia.

Arrests were made based on information from UK sources.
The four men are being held without charge for seven days under counter terrorism laws and investigations are continuing. More arrests may follow.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-30/what-we-know-about-the-alleged-plot-to-bomb-plane/8757448

IMO, global terrorism needs global co-operation to disrupt their activities. I'm pleased to know that it is happening.
 
Warrigal said:
I've found out bit more. [The detained aussie diplomat] was born in Lebanon of Syrian parents and has dual Syrian/Australian citizenship.
He has also made numerous trips to Syria. He is an Alawite Muslim, same as Assad.

This would be sufficient to deny him a visa....Further information reveals that he has been a supporter of Assad.
My intuition is telling me that Australian border security has been talking to their American counterparts.

If this is the case, then it is a good thing,
Click to expand...
Your focus on truth and substance is refreshing and informative in this thread. Thank you.
 

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