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Rica News. News on
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California
Student
Takes
the
Long
Way
Home
From
Costa
Rica
After
'No-Fly'
Designation
A
U.S.
citizen
from
San
Diego
who
was
barred
from
boarding
a
flight
home
from
Costa
Rica
-
apparently
because
he
has
been
placed
on
the
U.S.
no-fly
list
-
was
attempting
to
fly
to
Mexico
and
cross
into
the
United
States
by
land
on
Thursday,
attorneys
familiar
with
his
case
said.
Kevin
Iraniha,
after
graduating
from
an
international
law
program
in
Costa
Rica,
with
his
brothers
Jahan,
far
left,
and
Shervin,
second
from
left.
His
father,
Nasser
Iraniha,
is
on
the
right.
Kevin
Iraniha,
27,
had
just
completed
his
master's
degree
in
international
law
at a
United
Nations-affiliated
Peace
University
in
Costa
Rica
and
was
preparing
to
return
home
on
Tuesday
when
he
was
refused
boarding,
according
to
Munia
Jabbar,
a
staff
attorney
with
the
Council
on
American
Islamic
Relations,
or
CAIR,
a
non-profit
civil
rights
group.
Iraniha
went
to
the
U.S.
Embassy
in
Costa
Rica,
where
he
was
questioned
extensively
by
FBI
agents
about
his
religious
beliefs,
his
attendance
and
contacts
at
mosques
in
Costa
Rica,
and
whether
he
was
involved
in
activities
that
presented
a
threat,
Jabbar
said.
Iraniha
was
born
and
raised
in
San
Diego.
His
father
is
an
Iranian-born
U.S.
citizen,
and
his
mother
is a
native-born
U.S.
citizen.
The
officials
indicated
he
was
on
the
U.S.
no-fly
list
of
people
who
are
prohibited
from
boarding
domestic
flights
or
international
flights
that
enter
U.S.
airspace.
The
list
has
grown
from
just
a
few
names
prior
to
Sept.
11,
2001,
when
Islamic
extremists
used
commercial
flights
to
attack
the
United
States,
to a
roster
of
about
20,000
names,
including
about
500
U.S.
citizens
in
2012.
In
order
to
get
home,
Iraniha
booked
an
alternative
flight
to
Mexico
City
and
onward
to
Tijuana,
and
planned
to
drive
over
the
border
to
San
Diego.
Kevin
Iraniha
could
not
immediately
be
reached
by
phone,
but
his
brother
Jahan
said
that
he
had
received
messages
confirming
arrival
in
Mexico
City
and
imminent
boarding
of a
flight
for
Tijuana.
Family
members
were
planning
to
go
to
the
Mexican
border
to
meet
Iraniha
Thursday
evening,
according
to
Jahan
Iraniha,
who
declined
further
comment
until
Friday.
"At
this
moment
we
are
trying
to
get
him
safely
home,
and
we
will
look
at
the
details
and
questions
in
coming
days,"
said
Hanif
Mohebi,
executive
director
of
CAIR
San
Diego.
Dozens
of
Americans
—
primarily
Muslims
—
have
been
stranded
overseas
by
the
no-fly
list.
As
in
Iraniha’s
case,
many
discover
they
are
on
the
list
only
when
they
are
at
an
airport
trying
to
check
in
for
a
flight.
The
no-fly
list
does
not
bar
American
citizens
from
returning
to
the
United
States
by
land.
But
Iraniha’s
ability
to
return
is
still
uncertain,
and
there
are
few
precedents
for
attempting
to
do
so.
Another
American
who
found
he
was
on
the
no-fly
list
when
attempting
to
return
to
the
U.S.
from
Bogota,
Colombia,
was
Raymond
Knaeble.
After
landing
in
Mexico
City
in
May
2010,
with
plans
to
travel
onward
by
land,
Knaeble
was
interrogated
by
Mexican
officials
for
15
hours
and
then
deported
to
Bogota,
according
to a
lawsuit
filed
by
the
American
Civil
Liberties
Union.
According
to
the
court
documents,
filed
on
behalf
of
15
plaintiffs
challenging
the
U.S.
no-fly
list,
Knaeble
finally
got
back
to
the
United
States
from
Colombia
in
August
2010
by
traveling
by
bus
for
12
days.
The
no-fly
list,
maintained
by
the
Terrorist
Screening
Center
under
the
FBI,
includes
"known
or
reasonably
suspected
terrorists,"
according
to
the
FBI
website.
A
background
check
showed
no
criminal
background
for
Iraniha.
In
2010,
he
helped
organize
a
peace
protest
to
counter
a
planned
Quran
burning
by
anti-Muslim
activists,
according
to
the
Ocean
Bay
Rag,
a
small
publication
in
Southern
California.
Iraniha
spoke
to
the
Union
Tribune
of
San
Diego
after
he
was
initially
barred
from
his
flight
and
questioned
by
the
FBI
about
his
religious
beliefs
and
affiliations.
"It's
discrimination,"
he
told
the
publication.
"I
was
shocked;
it
was
really
weird
to
have
such
questions
being
asked.
First
and
foremost,
I'm
an
American,
and
secondly,
I
don't
believe
in
violence."
The
publication
said
Iraniha
— a
self-described
peace
activist
and
"beach
boy"
—
plans
to
take
some
type
of
action,
possibly
filing
a
lawsuit.
Iraniha's
two
brothers
and
his
father,
who
had
come
to
Costa
Rica
to
attend
his
graduation,
were
all
allowed
to
fly
home
to
the
United
States.
