Assalamu’alaykum John,

Today, we share the story of MLFA beneficiary and CLCMA client Lassana Magassa, an American citizen who found himself fighting for his rights after being targeted by U.S. government agencies for no other discernible reason than his identity.

Magassa, an African-American Muslim of Malian descent, experienced first-hand the complexity of government programs that disproportionately target Muslims and people of color.

Growing up in Harlem, New York, Magassa had aspirations for higher education and an interest in law enforcement. He also knew what it was to hustle: while pursuing his PhD in Seattle, he worked the night shift at Delta Airlines to support his family. This required special security clearance from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which he had no problem receiving. It was the abrupt and unexplained revocation of this clearance, and the difficulties that ensued, that positioned Magassa as a plaintiff against government defendants at the FBI, TSA, DHS, and CBP.

Magassa's trouble seemed to stem from an encounter with an FBI agent who he had met under the assumption of exploring a career with law enforcement.

Instead, the agent appeared interested in recruiting Magassa as an informant.

After refusing the FBI agent's proposal, Magassa began facing difficulties traveling. Alarms inexplicably blared when he scanned his boarding passes, he was subjected to extensive secondary screenings, and he missed numerous flights. He lost his Global Entry privileges, his security clearance, and his airport badge one after the other. This meant that he also abruptly lost his job. His experiences were consistent with individuals on the Terrorist Watch List - and Magassa wanted to know why.

For three years, he followed administrative procedures to request information from the TSA and CBP in order to challenge such a designation, but he was never provided any information other than heavily redacted documents that do no more than to identify that he was the topic of investigation.

Then one day last summer, less than a month after the latest of many pleadings filed on his behalf by lawyers at the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America, Magassa received a letter from the TSA stating that he no longer posed a threat.

While welcome and long overdue, this reversal is equally unexplained, and does nothing to reassure Magassa that it won’t happen again.

Magassa was directly affected by government regulations that deprived him of various liberty and property interests for the nearly three-year period in which the TSA found he posed a security threat, without the ability to properly determine or confront the claims against him.

The constitutional issues pertaining to loss of credentials, loss of reputation, and loss of chosen employment, as well as undue hardship in, and the chilling effect on, traveling both domestically and internationally, were not responsibly addressed by the government agencies involved. Chief among the issues raised is the lack of information provided to justify - or challenge - why he was a person of interest in the first place.

Magassa is still reeling from the stigma of his experience, and fears that his rights and freedoms may be in jeopardy at any time in the future, should history repeat itself.

By pursuing this lawsuit, he’s not merely leaving it up to chance. He’s continuing to fight for his rights, his good name, and his dream of success in America. It is not an easy road, but he has hope - hope that his fight paves the way to accountability, transparency, and trust in our justice system going forward, and prevents further abuses down the road.

Masha’Allah, despite his troubles, Dr. Magassa earned his Ph.D., a testament to his strength and the power of hope.

In faith and for justice,