WNYUZ
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • World
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • World
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
No Result
View All Result
WNYUZ
No Result
View All Result
Home News

US citizen says he and his wife detained without explanation after returning from Canada

April 18, 2025
in News
Yahoo news home
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

An American citizen says he and his wife were detained for hours by US 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 US 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 traveler’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 traveler was appropriately referred to secondary inspection – a routine, lawful process that occurs daily and can apply for any traveler.”

A mass deportation campaign by the White House has sparked fear as it aims to slow arrivals at the border and remove undocumented immigrants. President Donald Trump has also threatened to send certain US 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 US 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 US.

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

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

The post US citizen says he and his wife detained without explanation after returning from Canada appeared first on CNN.

Tags: Bachir AtallahCeline AtallahCNNCustoms and Border PatrolYahooYahoo News
Share196Tweet123Share
Yahoo news home
News

Pope Leo XIV draws criticism, praise for record on clergy sexual abuse

May 10, 2025

As many celebrate Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost's historic selection as pope, the world's largest organization for clergy sexual abuse victims ...

Read more
News

Mayor Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, arrested at immigration detention center he has been protesting

May 9, 2025
News

Now Is Not the Time to Eat Bagged Lettuce

May 9, 2025
News

The WH says Trump is considering suspending habeas corpus. What would that mean?

May 9, 2025
News

Mayor of Newark arrested for trespassing at Ice detention center

May 9, 2025
Yahoo lifestyle home

Liam and Olivia dominate — again — with top baby names for a sixth year in a row

May 9, 2025
Exclusive-India offers to slash tariff gap by two-thirds in dash to seal trade pact with Trump

Exclusive-India offers to slash tariff gap by two-thirds in dash to seal trade pact with Trump

May 9, 2025
Yahoo news home

The ‘R-word,’ embraced by Joe Rogan and Elon Musk, inches back into the mainstream

May 9, 2025

© 2025 WNyuz.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • World
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Tech

© 2025 WNyuz.com