Muslim woman from Quebec says she was denied entry to the United States

MONTREAL – A Canadian Muslim woman who has lived in Quebec for 20 years says she believes she was denied entry to the United States because of her religion.

Fadwa Alaoui, who lives in the Montreal-area community of Brossard, says she and a cousin were questioned at length last Saturday at the Highgate Springs border crossing in Vermont.

The two women were with two children and were headed to Burlington for some shopping.

Alaoui says she told a U.S. customs official she was born in Morocco, as indicated on her valid Canadian passport.

The women were then questioned and had to give up their cellular telephones as well as the passwords for the devices.

Alaoui says the questions focused almost exclusively on her religion and that she was also asked what she thought about U.S. President Donald Trump.

They were advised after a four-hour delay they would not be allowed entry. The women say they had to sign documents and were fingerprinted.