He returned from a trip to Canada and ended up handcuffed: “I feared for my life”

What began as a Sunday evening drive home from visiting family ended with Bachir Atallah and his wife locked in a cell, unsure why they had been handcuffed at the U.S.-Canada border, and worried he might not make it out.

The American citizen – who reportedly voted for Donald Trump – and his wife, Jessica, were returning from Quebec through the Highgate Springs checkpoint in Vermont. They were told to pull over for what U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) later described as a “routine, lawful” secondary inspection. But Atallah said that what followed didn’t feel routine at all.

“It wasn’t humane”

When he asked why he needed to hand over his keys, he told CNN an officer placed a hand on his gun. Moments later, Atallah was in cuffs. His wife, he said, was taken to a different holding cell. “It wasn’t humane,” he said.

Over the next few hours, Atallah said they were given no explanation. He claims agents took his phone, asked for the passcode, which he gave, but never read him his rights. He started feeling chest pains, but when he asked for medical help, he was warned that going to the ER would mean starting the whole process over, and he did not want to leave Jessica alone.

Customs and Border Protection deny

It’s maybe not surprising that the CBP pushed back strongly on these claims.

“The traveler’s accusations are blatantly false and sensationalized,” a spokesperson said in a statement to CNN’s WMUR affiliate. “CBP officers acted in accordance with established protocols.”

The couple were finally released around 11 p.m., after Atallah’s sister – an immigration lawyer, as it turns out – received a vague voicemail from CBP saying her brother was “safe” but would “be here for a little while.”

Atallah, now visiting family in Lebanon, said he’s afraid of what might happen if he speaks out too loudly.

“I hope they don’t retaliate,” he told CNN. “I feared for my life.”

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