A Bay Area immigration attorney says he was subjected to an intense, 45-minute security screening at San Francisco International Airport and told he was on a watchlist, prompting concerns that he is being targeted for his legal advocacy.
Nikolas De Bremaeker, managing attorney for the immigrants’ rights practice at Oakland-based Centro Legal de la Raza, said the incident occurred earlier this month before a flight from San Francisco to Boston. He said his boarding pass indicated he was selected for increased screening, which he initially assumed was random.
“When I was in front of the TSA booth, the TSA worker made a sort of surprised face when scanning my ticket,” De Bremaeker said. “At that point, the whole interaction became tense. I definitely felt like I was treated like a suspect from that moment on.”
De Bremaeker was taken to a separate area where about a half-dozen Transportation Security Administration workers conducted an extensive search. He said agents turned on his electronic devices, went through every item in his bags and gave him “the most extreme pat-down of my life.” During the search, he turned off his phone’s fingerprint sensor to protect confidential client files.
After the 45-minute search, De Bremaeker asked a worker if the screening was random. He was told it was not and that he had been placed on a watchlist.
Originally from Belgium, De Bremaeker has been a vocal critic of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He recently played a role in a key court ruling that restricted the agency’s authority to arrest immigrants when they appear for court hearings. While he cannot say for certain why he was singled out for increased scrutiny, the experience left him unnerved.
“At that point, all kinds of things went through my head,” De Bremaeker said. “I was definitely concerned given the work I do, but they wouldn’t give me any more information as to the reason why.
Bill Hing, a professor of law and migration studies at the University of San Francisco, suggested the incident aligns with a broader pattern of intimidation.
“I do think that targeting immigrants’ rights attorneys is one of many strategies where the Trump administration is trying to intimidate allies of noncitizens,” Hing said. “So, targeting immigration attorneys is definitely what we are seeing here.”
A Freedom of Information Act request has been filed on De Bremaeker’s behalf to determine why he was stopped and if he is on a watchlist.
The Department of Homeland Security and the TSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Christie Smith
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