DETROIT, MI – As he was arriving home from the Dominican Republic, a U.S. citizen and attorney for students and others opposed to the killing of children in Gaza by Israel, was detained without a reason this past Sunday at the Detroit Metro Airport, according to NPR.
Returning with his wife and children, the attorney was the only one stopped by customs, which then promptly called for the “Tactical Terrorism Response Team,” reported NPR.
The agents then insisted he hand over his phone, with clear knowledge of who he was and that he was an attorney, he told NPR, adding, “it was apparent to me at that point that they’d already done their homework about me before I arrived because they knew that I was taking on some cases.”
He explained he had 10+ years of privileged information on his phone—messages and emails with clients, court filings, office documents, etc., meaning it would be impossible to decipher everything that was and was not able to be viewed, he said in an interview with NPR.
The agent he was speaking with then went to a supervisor and came back with a legal pad and pen, insisting he write down everything that was privileged and they would not go through that.
The attorney then stated that was ridiculous, as it would be impossible to document 10+ years of privileged information in his phone, he told NPR.
“I think this was a way to try to dissuade me from taking on these types of cases.” – Michigan attorney
Characteristic of a broader trend, this search is not uncommon and random, the attorney stated to NPR, noting, “I think this was a way to try to dissuade me from taking on these types of cases,” as “I’m standing up for students. I’m standing up for immigrants and political dissenters.”
During President Trump’s first term, Customs and Border Control reported there were 23,877 electronic searches conducted in 2016, compared to just 4,764 the year prior, according to CNN.
Officials are now indicating that such searches have similarly increased during his second term, reported NPR.
However, this Michigan attorney insists that, instead of dissuading him and others like himself, these searches are having “the opposite effect.”
In his NPR interview, he said, “the outpouring of support that I have received from members of the Bar Association, not just in Michigan but nationally, and members of the community, is a showing that people are offended by this type of conduct.
“And it’s setting a terrifying precedent if government agents can target a lawyer at the border. What’s stopping them from doing it to anyone who dares to speak out?”
