New Hampshire lawyer ‘treated like a criminal’ by border patrol after returning from Canada

A New Hampshire real estate attorney and an American citizen have claimed they were detained at the U.S. border without explanation.

Bachir Atallah and his wife, Jessica Fakhri, were returning from a family vacation in Canada Sunday when officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped them as they were re-entering the country in Vermont.

“They held us in two separate cells, and neither of us had shoes or a jacket. It was freezing,” Atallah told The Independent Tuesday.

Atallah, the founder of the Bachir Atallah Law and a U.S. citizen for 10 years, said he was “treated like a criminal” as he claims to have been removed from his car by immigration authorities at a border crossing.

“The traveler’s accusations are blatantly false and sensationalized,” said CBP Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham in a statement to The Independent.

Attalah’s wife, Fakhri said the ordeal was “a shock” in an interview with NBC News.

Atallah told NBC: "He asked me, 'Exit the vehicle right now,' and he reached for his gun. I said, 'OK, I'm exiting the vehicle; keep your gun at your waist."

This is when he says authorities handcuffed him, twisted his arm and walked him inside as he stared anxiously into the eyes of his wife.

Speaking with The Independent, the attorney described how the experience caused him to feel extremely unwell as his blood pressure soared to 153 over 112 –?and customs agents called for paramedics to assess him.

However, Atallah said he refused the medical treatment after being advised it would delay the entire process. He later received medical attention when the couple returned home.

As of Tuesday, he was finally starting to feel better after the encounter.

Attallah said that when he questioned why they were being apprehended, he was told: “We don't know; it's the government.”

Border agents agents reportedly requested access to Attallah’s email on his phone, he tried to refuse, citing attorney-client privilege.

“So I had to, under duress, give him permission to look through my email, through my privileged information, and he made me write a statement, signed by me, saying that I gave him permission to look through the email,” Attallah told NBC News.

CBP Assistant Commissioner Beckham insisted in a statement that “CBP officers acted in accordance with established protocols.”

Beckham continued: “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. Officers worked to ensure an attorney-client privilege was respected during the electronic media search. The traveler provided written consent to a limited search of his electronic device.”

While the duo were detained, agents called Atallah’s sister, Celine Atallah, who works as an immigration lawyer. She told NBC: “It's not about the immigrants. It's coming to us Americans, and it's going to go after all of us."

After five long hours, the duo were finally released. Now, they are pursuing legal action.

Atallah previously held high hopes for the Trump administration and was convinced “things would change for the better.”

“It’s one thing to protect the country from illegal aliens, but to obtain a law-abiding citizen who works as a lawyer in the country?” he told The Independent.

The real estate attorney is due to leave the U.S. for Lebanon Tuesday evening for work and to visit family and is frightened of what could unfold upon his return.

“I’m scared it’s going to happen again tonight,” he said.