U.S. citizen says he and his wife detained without explanation after returning from Canada

Vehicles are parked at the U.S. border post at Highgate Springs, Vt., Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring) (Wilson Ring/AP)

An American citizen says he and his wife were detained for hours by U.S. border agents when they returned to the United States after a short trip to Canada.

Bachir Atallah told CNN he and his wife, Jessica, were driving back into the U.S. Sunday evening after visiting family in Canada for the weekend when U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents stopped them for a secondary inspection at the Highgate Springs checkpoint in Vermont.

Atallah, who is originally from Lebanon, said he was told to park his Range Rover and hand over his keys. When he asked the officer why, the officer placed his hand on his gun and told him to exit his vehicle, Atallah said. He said he was then handcuffed and led into a cell, where his belongings were confiscated. He said his wife was put into a cell across from his.

“Seeing my wife’s mascara running because she was crying, it was heartbreaking,” Atallah said. “It wasn’t humane.”

While detained, Atallah said he gave CBP agents the passcode to his phone after they asked for it. Despite his pleadings, agents never told him why he and his wife were being detained, he said. He said he was never read his rights.

“The traveller’s accusations are blatantly false and sensationalized,” CBP officials said in a statement to CNN affiliate WMUR. “CBP officers acted in accordance with established protocols. Upon arrival at the port of entry, the traveller was appropriately referred to secondary inspection – a routine, lawful process that occurs daily and can apply for any traveller.”

A mass deportation campaign by the White House has sparked fear as it aims to slow arrivals at the border and remove undocumented immigrants. U.S. President Donald Trump has also threatened to send certain U.S. citizens to offshore prisons, a notion experts say has no legal basis.

“I feared for my life,” Atallah said.

Without answers as to what was going on, Atallah said he started to have chest pains and felt dizzy, and told CBP to call an ambulance. A record reviewed by CNN shows Emergency Medical Services evaluated Atallah around 8 p.m. Sunday night.

Atallah said he was told by CBP if he went to the emergency room, an officer would accompany him and then return him to the cell to start the entire process from the beginning. He said he chose to stay, to not to leave his wife.

Atallah said after he was first handcuffed, he told officers to call his lawyer, his sister Celine Atallah, who works as an immigration attorney.

A person identifying himself as an officer at U.S. Customs and Border Patrol left a voicemail message on Celine’s phone close to 9 p.m., informing her Atallah and his wife were at Highgate Springs CBP, they were “safe” and they would “be here for a little while,” the message said.

“He wanted my help, not to know that he’s fine,” Celine Atallah said in an interview.

Bachir and Jessica left around 11 p.m. Sunday, he said.

“Thank God we’re safe,” they said in Arabic once they got into their car to drive home.

When reached by phone on Friday, Atallah said he was in Lebanon visiting family. He told CNN after his and wife’s treatment last week, he’s worried about returning to the U.S.

“I hope they don’t retaliate because I’m speaking out,” Atallah said.

By Jeff Winter, CNN