School trip teacher denied entry to US speaks out
AMUSLIM teacher who was removed from a US-bound plane by security officials while on a school trip said he was “made to feel like a criminal”.
Juhel Miah, pictured left, was travelling with a group from Llangatwg Comprehensive in Port Talbot on a trip to New York when he was removed from the aircraft in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Mr Miah, 25, said he had his luggage taken from him and was forced to stay in an “horrendous hotel” before school officials booked him on a flight back to the UK.
“We got to the airport, and as soon as we got to check in, the lady behind the desk read my passport and then straight away said you’ve been selected for a random security check,” he said.
“She took me to the room, made me stand on a stool, take
my shoes off, jacket off, checked under my foot, got a swab to brush over my hand and bag, my clothing and school hoodie.
“They gave me the all clear and then I went. The search was about five minutes at least. There were five or six people in the room, two searched me.”
Mr Miah said he was cleared to board the flight before he was approached by a woman who told him to follow her.
“Everyone was looking at me,” he said.
“‘I’ve just been informed that you can’t board this plane’, she said. She wasn’t an Icelandic air official, the Icelandic air officials were brilliant.”
He said: “As I was getting my luggage the teachers and kids were confused. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
“All the plane was quiet. I was being escorted out. It made me feel like a criminal. I couldn’t speak, I was lost for words.”
Mr Miah, who lives in Swansea, said he was escorted to an area of the airport where he was reunited with his luggage.
“My brand new suitcase looked filthy on the outside. They then took me to a hotel, where I was waiting for two hours for a room. It was horrendous. There were holes in the sheets, a dirty bag under the bed, the light wasn’t working and only the lamp was working. I was so paranoid.
“My phone battery was dying so I went to my suitcase, and that’s when I realised the padlock was missing. It had gone. I was so paranoid, I was scared, I didn’t sleep or eat for two days.”
Mr Miah said he visited both the US and British embassies in Reykjavik but claimed the phone numbers he was given did not work. He returned on a flight back to the UK a day later.
While the school trip proceeded as planned, Mr Miah said his removal from the flight left pupils and colleagues “shocked and distressed”.
Neath Port Talbot Council has written to the Embassy of the United States of America in London to express its dismay at the treatment of one of its employees.
A council spokesman said: “We are appalled by the treatment of Mr Miah and are demanding an explanation. The matter has also been raised with our local Member of Parliament.
“No satisfactory reason has been provided for refusing entry to the United States – either at the airport in Iceland or subsequently at the US Embassy in Reykjavik.”
The reason for the US refusing entry to Mr Miah is currently unclear.
A travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority nations being allowed entry into the US was launched by President Donald Trump on January 27 triggering chaos at airports around the world. The order was suspended during a court battle on February 9 and Mr Trump’s revised order, which is understood to be under development, has not yet been signed.
The US embassy has been asked to comment.
Neath Labour AM Jeremy Miles said he was “appalled” to hear about the incident involving Mr Miah and said he would be raising it with the Welsh Government to ask them to make representations to Central Government.
Neath MP Christina Rees said: “Mr Miah was subjected to a humiliating and distressing experience, not only preventing him from boarding his plane to New York or entering the US Embassy in Iceland, but also stranding him in a foreign country whilst his fellow travellers continued on their journey. This also led to a potentially serious situation where a risk assessed trip was left with one teacher down, raising questions about the effect on the safeguarding of the children.”
She added: “I shall be writing to Prime Minister Theresa May, the UK Foreign Secretary and the US Embassy to raise my concerns and demand a full apology for Mr Miah, Llangatwg Comprehensive School and Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council.”
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are providing support to a British man who was prevented from boarding a flight in Reykjavik.”