Bilal's darker skin may have incited the security agent to ask if he was Muslim. When he confirmed the officer's suspicion that he was a Muslim, the TSA agent proceeded to search his personal belongings. Bilal's American passport should have granted him reentry into America with ease, yet because he was a Muslim, the borders tightened when he attempted to come back in. His status as an American citizen did not protect him from being profiled because his Muslim identity negates his status as an American.

XREF: Connects to broader discussions of surveillance, security theater, and how minority identities complicate formal legal citizenship. QUESTION: To what extent does official policy versus individual officer behavior drive this profiling outcome?

Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, loc. 222