Ibrahim
Ibrahim v. Homeland Security
Opinion
Opinion
Facts
Rahinah Ibrahim is a Malaysian Muslim who studied at Stanford University under a student visa. In January 2005, she tried to fly from San Francisco to Malaysia, but when she presented her ticket at the United Air Lines counter, the air- line discovered her name on the federal government’s No-Fly List. The airline refused to let her board, and its employee, David Nevins, called the San Francisco police.
When the police arrived, they phoned the Transportation Security Intelligence Service, which is part of the Transporta- tion Security Administration, which is in turn part of the Department of Homeland Security. An employee named John Bondanella answered the phone at the Transportation Security Intelligence Service’s office in Washington, D.C.1 He instructed the police to prevent Ibrahim from flying, to detain her for further questioning and to call the FBI. The police did as they were told: Without explaining their reasons, they handcuffed Ibrahim in front of her fourteen-year-old daughter and took her to the police station. Two hours later, the FBI told the police to release her, and the police complied.