If you watched the episode you would know that he kept mentioning that he was of West African descent and born there and therefore he was picked on. All travel manifesto carries name, date of birth and
place of birth besides nationality.
He was shortlisted because of his descent. FBI and many countries have established the West African Task since the the 1990s. So much so that they have been buying passports of first neighbouring countries like Mali and now US and UK passports.
The issue is endemic that Japan stopped issuing entry to West Africans unless they are sponsored by a company. Who do you think we have been hanging for drug trafficking in singapore for the last 20 years - eskimos with british passport or a middle eastern chap with a US passport? Besides the locals and a couple Malaysians, Nigerians take pride of place at Changi's Hanging Gallery for over 20 years. The first foreigner besides a Malaysians was a Nigerian and the chap that SDP was crying out for recently was a 21 year nigerian.
In this case, the group profiling did not help and they picked the wrong man. If the customs officer had brains or let alone have a modicum of professionalism he would not have remarked that the chap was trying to impress his white australian wife. I could sense his balls hanging out after that episode and I mean the customs officer. Truly incompetent.
Middle Eastern ethnicity has never been profiled for crime but for terrorism - a whole different kettle of fish. They will end up closing the airport if they stopped every middle eastern passengers going to Australia. Not so for West african born individuals.
Welcome to the world of international politics and the inner sanctum of why the 3 most important fields of anyone travelling is Name, date of birth and place of birth and it applies to all countries' immigration.
In this case, due to poor training and incompetence they did not know how to diffuse the situation. In Singapore and the US, they will channel them and not get fucked in front of the entire arrival hall and made a fool.
I saw the whole episode. The guy wasn't West African. He was a Brit.
The immigration officials were not being meek. They simply behaved professionally.
If they judged people based on appearance, I'd be hauled up every time. I look like a terrorist.