Ali’s son exposed to Trump travel ban

UNITED STATES: Muhammad Ali Jr had just returned to Florida from Jamaica, where he had accompanied his mother, Khalilah Camacho-Ali, who was there giving a speech about black history.

After arriving at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport, Ali Jr – son of one of the greatest boxers of all time – was detained and asked at least twice about his religion, according to attorney Chris Mancini. Ali – born in Philadelphia in 1972 – and his mother are both Muslim.

‘‘To the Ali family, it’s crystal clear that this is directly linked to [President Donald] Trump’s efforts to ban Muslims from the United States,’’ Mancini said about the alleged incident, which occurred on February 7.

Mancini said Ali and his mother were initially flagged by immigration agents for their ‘‘Arabic-sounding’’ names. He said Camacho-Ali was not detained after she showed officials a photo- graph of herself with her exhusband, but when Ali Jr. could not produce a photograph of himself with his father, who died last year, officials detained him for approximately two hours. Immigration officers asked Ali Jr about his religion twice.

‘‘This is an instance where the ban has been enforced even though it has been thrown out. The government is still trying to find grounds to keep Muslims out,’’ Mancini said. – Washington Post