The Muslim son of America's most famous boxer says he was stopped at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, questioned twice about his religion, and then held for about two hours this past February 7. 
 
 Muhammad Ali Jr., the son of Muhammad Ali, was on his way back from Montego Bay, Jamaica, with his mother and Ali's first wife, Khalilah, when immigration officers detained him. Khalilah showed officers a picture of herself with her ex-husband, who died last June 3, so she was not detained. Ali Jr. had no such photo. 
 
 "This is an outrage," says Chris Mancini, a former federal prosecutor and friend of the family. "I don't know what is going on with Mr. Trump's claim that his ban is not religion-based. We do not discriminate in this country based on religion." 
 
 Ali Jr., age 44, had no criminal record and carries a United States passport, Mancini says. He recently moved to Deerfield Beach to live with his mother. Last year, Ali Jr. received a large share of his father's multimillion-dollar fortune. 
 
 Khalilah Ali married the boxer, who was then named Cassius Clay, in 1967 at the age of 17. They divorced ten years later. She had traveled to Jamaica to give a speech about black history. 
 
 "I don't know what is going on with Mr. Trump's claim that his ban is not religion-based. We do not discriminate in this country based on religion." Facebook 
 
 Twitter 
 
 More shares recommend reddit email 
 
 
 
 Mancini says the detention is an instance where a ban proposed by the Trump administration and overturned by both a trial court and an appeals court is nevertheless being enforced. 
 
 A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Norma Morfa, declined to comment on Ali Jr.'s case specifically. 
 
 "Due to the restrictions of the Privacy Act, U.S. Customs and Border Protection cannot discuss individual travelers; however, all international travelers arriving in the U.S. are subject to CBP inspection," she told New Times via email. 
 
 The incident is the second strange detention of a person of color at FLL since Trump's crackdown on Muslim travel was announced in January. On February 1, a prominent ex-BuzzFeed reporter, Stacy-Marie Ishmael, said her Trinidadian husband was detained for three hours at the airport and was asked where "he got his name." Ishmael declined to speak to New Times about the ordeal. 
 
 Likewise, CBP's Morfa told New Times February 2 that the agency could not discuss that case. 
 
 But Mancini, the former prosecutor, says immigration officers asked Ali Jr. for his full name, date of birth, and religion. They held him for 30 minutes, then separated him from his mother, and took him to a small room. An officer returned a half-hour later and again asked him his religion, Mancini says. He was held for about an hour more before being released. 
 
 "What right does the United States have to inquire about somebody's religion when they enter the country?" Mancini says. "There was no other basis for a secondary inspection. This is an instance where the ban has been enforced even though it has been thrown out. The government is still trying to find grounds to keep Muslims out." 
 
 ||||| CLOSE Immigration officials questioned Muhammad Ali Jr. at a Florida airport. Rachel Aretakis/Wochit 
 
 A family friend of Muhammad Ali Jr. told the Courier-Journal Friday that the son of the legendary boxer was detained by U.S. Customs at a Florida airport and questioned about his religious faith. Ali Jr. is shown here in 2016 at his father's funeral in Louisville. (Photo: Michael Clevenger/Courier-Journal) 
 
 Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Khalilah Camacho-Ali was Muhammad Ali's first wife. 
 
 Clarification: A statement from longtime Muhammad Ali family spokesperson Bob Gunnell has been added to clarify who Chris Mancini represents. 
 
 The son of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali was detained for hours by immigration officials at a Florida airport, a family friend told the Courier-Journal. 
 
 Muhammad Ali Jr., 44, and his mother Khalilah Camacho-Ali, the second wife of Muhammad Ali, were arriving at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Feb. 7 after returning from speaking at a Black History Month event in Montego Bay, Jamaica. They were pulled aside while going through customs because of their Arabic-sounding names, according to family friend and lawyer Chris Mancini. 
 
 Immigration officials let Camacho-Ali go after she showed them a photo of herself with her ex-husband, but her son did not have such a photo. Mancini said officials held and questioned Ali Jr. for nearly two hours, repeatedly asking him, "Where did you get your name from?" and "Are you Muslim?" 
 
 Related 
 
 When Ali Jr. responded that yes, he is a Muslim, the officers kept questioning him about his religion and where he was born. Ali Jr. was born in Philadelphia in 1972 and holds a U.S. passport. 
 
 “To the Ali family, it's crystal clear that this is directly linked to Mr. Trump's efforts to ban Muslims from the United States.” Chris Mancini, Ali family friend and lawyer 
 
 Reached for comment via email Friday, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said, "Due to the restrictions of the Privacy Act, U.S. Customs and Border Protection cannot discuss individual travelers; however, all international travelers arriving in the U.S. are subject to CBP inspection." 
 
 The line of questioning is indicative of profiling and designed to produce answers that corroborate what officials want to hear, Mancini said. Neither Camacho-Ali nor Ali Jr. have ever been subjected to detainment before, despite extensive global travel experience, he said. 
 
 "To the Ali family, it's crystal clear that this is directly linked to Mr. Trump's efforts to ban Muslims from the United States," Mancini said, referring to President Donald Trump's executive order signed Jan. 27 that barred people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days. The order also halted the refugee program for 120 days and prohibited Syrian refugees from the U.S. indefinitely. 
 
 A U.S. appeals court has since blocked enforcement of the travel order, upholding an earlier decision by a federal judge in Seattle. 
 
 Officials at the Fort Lauderdale airport did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. 
 
 Camacho-Ali and Ali Jr. live in Deerfield Beach, Florida, a 20-minute drive from the airport. While Ali Jr. was detained, Camacho-Ali ran around the airport asking, "Where's my son?" and begging for help, Mancini said. Because incidents involving customs officials are considered to be on federal soil, local police had no jurisdiction to help her. Ali Jr. was released two hours later, and the family contacted Mancini the following day. 
 
 Mancini said he and Ali Jr.'s family are contemplating filing a federal lawsuit, although longtime Muhammad Ali family spokesperson Bob Gunnell said in an email Saturday evening that Mancini only represents Muhammad Ali Jr. and Khalilah Camacho-Ali. 
 
 " Mr Mancini is representing Muhammad Ali Jr.," Gunnell's statement said. "He does not represent the Muhammad Ali family. The Muhammad Ali family is not considering filing a federal lawsuit in this matter." 
 
 Mancini said he hopes to find out how many other people have been subjected to the same treatment as Ali Jr. 
 
 "Imagine walking into an airport and being asked about your religion," he said. "This is classic customs profiling." 
 
 Reporter Danielle Lerner can be reached at dlerner@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4042. 
 
 More from the Courier-Journal 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://cjky.it/2mgxj5G
– The family of Muhammad Ali is threatening a lawsuit after one of his sons was detained at a Florida airport and asked about his religion. Customs officials held Muhammad Ali Jr., 44, for about two hours at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when he flew in from Jamaica with his mother, reports the Miami New Times. They let Khalilah Camacho-Ali, the late boxing legend's first wife, go through after she produced a photo of herself with her ex-husband, but Ali's son had no such photo, says family attorney and friend Chris Mancini. They kept asking him, "Where did you get your name from?" and "Are you Muslim?" Mancini tells the Louisville Courier-Journal. Citing privacy restrictions, a spokeswoman for US Customs and Border Protection would not comment specifically on the incident, but she said that "all international travelers arriving in the US are subject to CBP inspection." Ali and his mother had been in Jamaica to speak at a Black History Month event. Mancini says the family is considering a lawsuit because it amounts to "classic customs profiling" over Ali's last name, and he blames the White House. "To the Ali family, it's crystal clear that this is directly linked to Mr. Trump's efforts to ban Muslims from the United States." Ali and his mother live in Deerfield Beach, about 20 minutes from the airport.