aMir McLeu thought he was being introduced racially. The Detroit-born and Lebanese-American lawyer was returning from a family vacation in the Dominican Republic when an immigration officer at Detroit Metro Airport said he had asked for a “TTRT” agent after scanning his passport on Sunday. Makled said the expression on the agent’s face has changed. He felt that something “strange” was happening.
“So I Googled what TTRT means. I didn’t know,” Makled said. “And what I found was that meant a tactical terrorist response team, so I thought they were going to take me to the question right away.
But that became clear soon, Makled said the stops are different from the types that so-called random stop Muslims and Arab Americans are used to at US airports. According to the lawyer, the Plain Cross immigration officer said he knows who Makurd is and what he did for a living. The agent wanted to search for his phone.
“They quickly made it clear: “You’re a lawyer and I know you’re taking some more knowledgeable cases.” “Okay, well, what do you want from me?”
Among the most popular cases Makled recently adopted: Pro-Palestinian student protesters He was arrested at a demonstration at the University of Michigan.
“I have a clear correlation when I think about what’s going on with all the student protesters around the country and what’s going on, and a very explicit direction from. Current Management He has turned his eyesight to those protesting Israel’s ongoing attacks in the past few months. The administration has revoked student protesters who have pushed away the 600 protesters in the fisas for fisas and fisain for fisas and for fisas and for for for for for sult disaster bowing olnage was overcoming law bisaing own sable seal stations, and protested Israel’s continued attacks. Donald Trump simultaneously signed, aiming to become a major law firm that opposed some of the president’s interests by stripping him of access to federal buildings.
Additionally, most places are legally permitted to search devices in the US where ports for entries are legally permitted under existing case law. The fourth amendment protection provided by the US Constitution to prevent “irrational searches and seizures” is weak at US borders.
According to Makled, the officers did not explain to him what he was looking for or why he was stopped. They told the lawyer he could voluntarily unlock his phone, or they could confiscate it and see himself, he told them.
Makled, who has been a lawyer since 2012, uses the phone to speak to clients. He told officers that much of the information on his device is a privilege and that he will not hand it over. The agent asked him to write down the privileges so that he could see other information on his device, and he refused. After consulting with the supervisor, officials returned and said he plans to take Makled’s device unless the lawyer gives up on the list of contacts. Makled felt he had no choice but to acquiesce.
“They said they were just going to get their devices,” he said. “And I didn’t want it to happen. I needed my own device.”
The immigration officer downloaded and viewed the contacts before asking McCle about five or six specific names. He refused to reveal any further information. He was eventually allowed to go home.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told the Guardian that Makled’s accounts are “blatantly false and sensationalized.” The lawyer had undergone a 90-minute secondary examination that travelers could face, according to the agency. Makled provided written consent for a “limited search” of his phone “which was “performed in accordance with established protocols,” CBP aide Hilton Beckham said.
“He was released soon afterwards. He claims that this was an attack on his profession or that it was politically motivated. Our officers follow the law, not the agenda,” Beckham said.
“The Fourth Amendment will disappear”
Sophia Cope, a senior staff lawyer for the Digital Rights Group Electronic Frontier Foundation, is called “outrageous” on Makled phones.
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“CBP or [the Department of Homeland Security] I showed up at the lawyer’s office and said, “I couldn’t say, ‘Please give me a contact list’ without a warrant,” Cope said. “It’s completely illegal, but since this guy is at the border, they hope for potential domestic surveillance and enforcement, so somehow the Fourth Amendment will go away.”
Both citizens and non-citizens who enter the US may search for mobile phones at the border. The fourth amendment protection against “irrational searches and seizures” is weakened at US entry points. The role of CBP is to stop people and products that could threaten the US from entering the country. For US citizens, CBP may attract travelers whose agents have security concerns about anything from drugs and sex trafficking to spying concerns, but ultimately they must admit it to the state, Cope said.
However, there have been many recent cases of CBP pulling US citizens over the lack of border security concerns at the request of other federal agencies, Cope said. For example, the FBI has asked CBP in the past to place flags on people’s travel profiles.
“It could be because the person is in the country’s investigation themselves, or because the traveler is in relation to the person being investigated and the government is trying to avoid the warrant requirements,” Cope said.
Cope said that based on existing information, stopping Makled appears to be not a regular thing. “When they told him, ‘I know you’re a lawyer,’ and this terrorism flag came into view. It’s not routine, it’s planned ahead of time,” Coop said.
CBP has access to a vast number of databases where agents can access personal information about individuals traveling to the United States. One of these repositories may contain a “Lookout” specification for Makled. This is the flag of his files that could lead to secondary screening. As long as CBP considers it “appropriate”, those “observatory” can remain in a person’s file. Documents revealed in a 2019 case in Massachusetts federal court.
When Makled was finally released about two hours after he was first taken into custody, he asked authorities if he should expect to be stopped every time he travels abroad.
“He says, ‘Maybe it’s going to stop next time,'” McCled said. “Maybe it isn’t. It depends on the agent that’s working.”
Source: www.theguardian.com