Letter to the Hon. Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security - Meng Demands Investigation and Justice for Adnan Asif Parveen

Letter

Dear Secretary Nielsen:

I write today to express my concern and outrage after reading Huffington Post's article on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) treatment of Adnan Asif Parveen.[1] According to the Huffington Post, CBP officers arrested and detained Adnan Asif Parveen for six days, despite having a legal work permit. Furthermore, despite CBP officers' knowledge of his Muslim beliefs, he was given only pork to eat for a week.[2] I am calling for an investigation into this matter.

CBP's agency-wide policy, titled National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search, states that CBP employees must treat all individuals with dignity and respect, including respect for individual religious beliefs.[3] Furthermore, the same policy states that food should never be withheld as punishment and officers/agents should remain cognizant of a detainee's religious or other dietary restrictions. If accurate, the details highlighted in Huffington Post's article about CBP's treatment of Adnan Asif Parveen demonstrates CBP's failure to exercise and abide by its own policy, standards set forth to govern CBP's interaction with detained individuals.

I wish to know the following information:
What exactly led to Adnan Asif Parveen's detention and the reported mistreatment he received while in CBP custody?
How many detained individuals with religious or dietary restrictions are currently in CBP custody?
What protocol is in place to ensure that religious and dietary restrictions of detained individuals are met?
How does CBP address complaints of employee misconduct when it comes to mistreatment of detained individuals?

As a member of the Department of Homeland Security subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, I eagerly await your prompt response.

Sincerely,

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