U.S. officials apologize after a Canadian politician was asked to remove his turban

Trump administration officials have apologized to the Canadian government after U.S. airport security agents insisted that Canada’s federal minister of innovation Navdeep Bains remove his turban at the Detroit airport last year.

Bains was flying back to Toronto after a meeting in April of 2017 with Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and Ohio Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor when the incident happened, according to a report this week by La Presse.

Even though Bains had already passed all the other security checks at the airport, the airport agents still insisted he take off his turban.

"It was an awkward experience," Bains told the Quebec newspaper in an interview, adding that he went through the security process without revealing his identity as a federal minister in the Canadian government. He only showed his diplomatic passport when asked to prove his identity.

“I did it on purpose, as is my habit, to understand what ordinary people go through when they get caught up with people in positions of authority,” Bains explained.

Bains said he passed through a metal detector without any issues, and was told he’d have to go through an additional screening — a swab test — because he was wearing a turban, according to La Presse. The agent was struggling to get the machine to work when suddenly, the alarm started going off. The agent then told Bains he’d have to take off his turban, but the minister questioned why, since the metal detector had raised no problems.

“I told him that it was the machine that hadn’t worked properly. I asked him to redo the swab test and if there was a problem we could look at other options because I believed that it was an intrusion into my private life,” he continued. “They would never ask me to take off my clothes. It’s the same thing. It’s a piece of clothing.”

Eventually, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent agreed to do another test and the machine didn’t detect anything, said Bains, describing the behaviour of the TSA agents as “very insistent and very difficult.”

Bains arrived at the departure gate less than 20 minutes before his flight was scheduled to take off. There, he was approached by an agent, who told him he had to return to the security checkpoint because security protocol hadn’t been followed. He was told he would have to take off his turban.

“I responded politely that it was not a security threat and that I had passed all the security controls,” said Bains. “Then he asked for my name and identification. I reluctantly gave him my diplomatic passport.”

Once the agents realized his identity, Bains was told he could leave.

Following the incident, officials from Global Affairs Canada shared their concerns over the incident with the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration. Bains’ office confirmed that they received a verbal apology from U.S. officials.

“We regret the screening experience did not meet the expectations of Mr. Bains,” Mike England, national spokesperson of the TSA, told VICE News in a statement. “Upon review of airport closed-circuit video, we determined that the officer conducting the screening did not follow standard operating procedures and therefore received additional training.”

Anyone with a head covering may be subject to additional security screening, the statement continued, adding that the TSA does this to ensure that prohibited items or weapons aren’t hidden in clothing and brought onto an airplane.

“This policy covers all headwear and is not directed at any one particular item or group.”

Bains took issue with how easily he was cleared once the agents learned of his diplomatic status, since he had patiently gone through a number of security procedures before then.

“That’s not a satisfactory response,” he told La Presse.

‎"As a Sikh, wearing the turban is considered one of the most dutiful acts for a person of the faith and I am proud to represent my community,” he said in a statement to VICE News. “Unfortunately these types of incidents do occur from time to time to minorities in particular. But it should never become the norm. I will continue to promote diversity and inclusion across the country as our government has done since we took office. This is exactly why I ran for office. It is exactly why I will be attending the women's forum today and why I fought hard for inclusionary measures such as Bill C-25, increasing diversity and gender representation on boards."

The minister said he had a similar experience at the airport in Antigua, when he was coming back to Canada from a family vacation. He was using his regular passport, and the security agent asked him to take off his turban before he could go through a metal detector. Bains pushed back.

He was able to catch his flight after he explained to the agents that he was familiar with the law because he was a lawmaker and they Googled him to confirm his identity.

The Trudeau government also wrote to the Antigua government about this incident, but have yet to hear back, according to La Presse.