Lawyer for Pro-Palestinian Protester Detained at Airport After Family Vacation – Federal Agents Demand to Go Through His Phone

Patrick Semansky/AP

A lawyer representing a pro-Palestinian protester from the University of Michigan was detained by federal agents after coming back from a vacation.

According to a Monday report from Detroit Free Press, Dearborn attorney Amir Makled found himself being interrogated by agents just minutes after getting off the plane with his family. When the family arrived from their trip to the Dominican Republic, they went through the passport checkpoint and had their photos taken. Once Makled’s photo was taken, a notification appeared on the screen, prompting an agent to ask another, “Hey, are the TTRT folks around?”

Out of curiosity, Makled looked up the term on his phone and realized the agents were referring to the Tactical Terrorism Response Team.

Makled was then taken to an interrogation room, where a man dressed in plain clothes told him he was aware that he was a lawyer and that he “takes on big cases.”

Then, the subject of Makled’s phone came up. The report continued:

One agent handed him a pamphlet about confiscating phones at the border. Makled, who is familiar with the law, said he was well aware that the government can confiscate one’s phone for a period of time and then give it back. But he said he told the agents he wasn’t going to let them have his phone because it contained privileged information with all of his clients.

So, he said, the agents asked for a list of texts that he believed to be privileged. Makled said he told them that that was impossible given his thousands of texts.

So they kept pushing.

“I said, ‘Listen, why don’t you ask me what you want. What is it that you’re looking for, and I’ll decide if I’m going to give you the answer.’ ”

“He said, ‘Nope. It doesn’t work like that … we want your contact list,’ ” Makled said he was told.

Makled agreed to let them see his contact list. The agents asked who various people were, though Makled said he only told them that they are his clients, nothing more.

The meeting ended with the agents writing up a report and releasing Makled without incident.

Before Makled left the room, he said he asked the agents whether this was going to be routine in the future — him getting stopped at airports and questioned.

The agent told him he didn’t have an answer, but said he would write up a report and that “as a result, you should be fine,” Makled said he was told.

Makled said he then left the room and soon reunited with his family.

As noted by Detroit Free Press, Makled’s most recent high-profile case involves Samantha Lewis, a protester who was arrested and charged for her involvement in a demonstration on the campus of the University of Michigan.

Makled’s case follows a trend of lawyers and firms being targeted by the administration of President Donald Trump. The firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom recently agreed to do $100 million in pro bono work for the administration to avoid punishment from the president. While Trump has maintained he’s only targeting firms he believed abused the legal system to attack his allies, critics have argued that he’s merely going after political opponents.