HOUSTON, United States

A lawyer representing a pro-Palestinian student protester was detained at Detroit Metro Airport in the US state of Michigan and is sharing his story to warn of the Trump administration's tactics to intimidate attorneys protecting the First Amendment right to free speech, according to media reports Tuesday.

Amir Makled, 38, an attorney from the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, was detained by federal agents Sunday while returning from a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic with his family. He said the agents questioned him about his clients and asked him to give up his cell phone.

"I'm an American citizen. I'm not worried about being deported," Makled said he recalled thinking to himself in an interview with the Detroit Free Press. "So I tell them, 'I know you can take my phone. I'm not going to give you my phone, however...90% of my work is on my phone. You're not getting unfettered access to (it).'"

Makled, who is representing a pro-Palestinian demonstrator arrested at the University of Michigan last year, said the agents looked at his contact list but did not take his phone, and he was eventually released from detainment.

However, the civil rights and criminal defense attorney said he is troubled by what happened and attributes it to the tactics of President Donald Trump's administration of intimidating anyone who doesn't agree with his philosophies.

"This current administration is doing something that no administration has done — they are attacking attorneys," he said. "This is a different type of threat to the rule of law that I see. They are now challenging the judiciary, or lawyers. They're putting pressure (on them) to dissuade attorneys from taking on issues that are against the government's issues.”

Makled's detention comes after Trump issued a memo to the Justice Department last month in which he directed the agency to seek sanctions against attorneys, alleging they are helping fuel "rampant fraud and meritless claims" in the immigration system. He said he is not even an immigration lawyer and emphasized that attorneys from both large and small firms are being targeted.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham defended the government's airport tactics.

"Claims that CBP is searching more electronic media due to the administration change are false. CBP’s search numbers are consistent with increases since 2021, and less than 0.1% of travelers have their devices searched," Beckham said in a statement to the Detroit Free Press.

"These searches are conducted to detect digital contraband, terrorism-related content, and information relevant to visitor admissibility, all of which play a critical role in national security," he said. "Allegations that political beliefs trigger inspections or removals are baseless and irresponsible."

Makled said that when his photo was taken at the airport, the agents flagged him and requested TTRT to respond to the situation.

"I thought, 'What the hell is that?'" he said. "So I Google that (TTRT) quickly," he recalled, learning that TTRT stands for Tactical Terrorism Response Team.

Makled said the agents did not tell him exactly why he was detained, which is why he wants to get his message out to the American public about what is taking place against lawyers under the Trump administration.

"I don’t know what triggered this," he said. "I don’t know if it’s a result of civil rights cases or First Amendment issues involving student protesters. They wouldn’t tell me what it is."

"We have an obligation as lawyers to stand up to this stuff," he continued. "I have to be a person who can speak out when your rights are violated. We have to be the balancing act. We're a nation of laws. You gotta have lawyers."