She said she was made to feel like a criminal.
This is Zainab Merchant, 25, who alleges she was profiled at least 10 different times in one round trip while traveling to a wedding last week.
Riz M Photography
Merchant is an author from Gainesville, Florida. She was traveling with her 6 month-old baby and her husband to a wedding in Vancouver, Canada, which involved several flights and a car ride.
Merchant and her family flew from Orlando to Los Angeles International Airport. When they arrived at LAX she said they were told to wait, were escorted by security, and had their bags checked.
Then their bags were rechecked, their hands were swabbed multiple times, and they were patted down.
The agents said they were conducting a random security and ID check, and they were escorted out of the terminal by TSA staff. During these checks she said her baby was left unattended because she and her husband were searched at the same time.
She said she was told she failed the test and needed to come to another area, though the staff members refused to tell her which test she failed.
Merchant said after a 40-minute wait, she was checked by security staff again and told she passed. She was worried her husband and baby had boarded the flight — but it turned out they waited for her. They missed the flight.
The family managed to get a last-minute standby flight to Portland the next day. But, Merchant said, she was stopped by security again while catching that flight.
After arriving in Portland, they drove from there to Vancouver, and made it to the wedding on time.
Zainab Merchant
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2clugSm
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