More than 13 years ago, FBI agents walked into the store of Muhammad Tanvir, a legal permanent resident from Pakistan in New York, asking him to spy on the Muslim community. When he refused, he subsequently found himself on the federal government's No-Fly list.

On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court heard Tanvir's lawyer argue that he and others who faced similar treatment are entitled to compensation from federal officials who allegedly violated their religious beliefs.

"Federal agents put my clients on the No Fly list because they refused to spy on innocent coreligionists in violation of their Islamic beliefs. My clients lost precious years with loved ones, plus jobs and educational opportunities," Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer representing Tanvir and two others, told the court.