British Muslim schoolteacher of Bangladeshi origin denied entry to US

A British Muslim schoolteacher with Bangladeshi roots has been denied entry to the US and allegedly treated like a criminal while travelling as a member of a school party, according to UK media.

The Guardian newspaper said the teacher, Juhel Miah, and a group of children and other teachers were about to take off from Iceland on Feb 16 on their way to the US when he was removed from the plane at Reykjavik.

The maths master from 700-pupil Llangatwg Comprehensive in Aberdulais, South Wales, has been described as a “popular and respected teacher” known to other staff as Dean Miah, The Sun reported.

It also said the ‘shocked and distressed’ pupils were left in tears after seeing their teacher taken away.

On Feb 10, a US appeals court upheld a decision to suspend President Donald Trump's executive order banning entry from seven Muslim-majority countries.

He has not been to any of the seven countries - Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya – whose citizens were the subject to Trump’s travel ban.

His parents are of Bangladeshi origin. “None of my family has been to those countries. My brother flew to Florida last year. I still can’t pinpoint why me," Miah told the Guardian.

Miah, 25, told the Guardian: “I’m not an angry type of person. I don’t get easily worked up, otherwise I wouldn’t be a teacher. But I was definitely angry... Everyone was looking at me.

“Not just members of the public but my school, my kids, fellow teachers. It made me feel so small, as if I had done something wrong, as if I am a criminal. Everyone must have been thinking that – even the kids from my school... I didn’t know where to look."

“This shouldn’t happen to anyone. I’ve followed all the procedures. I’ve ticked all the right boxes yet they made me feel like a criminal," the Guardian quoted his as saying.

A spokesman for Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council told The Independent that the trip proceeded as planned but pupils and colleagues were left 'shocked and distressed' after 'popular and respected' Miah was escorted from the aircraft by security personnel.

The council has written to the US Embassy in London to express its dismay at the treatment of one of its employees, according to The Independent.

The council said in the letter it understood that Miah was refused entry by the US, despite being issued with a valid visa for travel.

The spokesman told The Independent: "We are appalled by the treatment of Mr Miah and are demanding an explanation."

The Guardian said the Foreign Office was aware of the incident. A spokeswoman told the newspaper: “We are providing support to a British man who was prevented from boarding a flight in Reykjavik.”

There was no immediate response from the US embassy in London, according to the Guardian.