WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, on Tuesday issued the following statement after reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection held for hours dozens of Iranian-Americans returning from Canada over the weekend:

“Targeting Americans based on ethnicity or national origin is not what we do as a country. It betrays our ideals and makes us less safe. The stain of detaining Japanese Americans during World War Two is still soaked into our nation’s fabric. President Trump, not Iranian-American citizens, is responsible for this escalation with Tehran, and the administration should stop trying to shift the focus and find a path to diplomacy now,” said Murphy.

Last week, Murphy blasted the Trump administration for the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp Commander General Qasem Soleimani. 

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