U.S.-born NASA scientist says border agents made him turn over his phone

Maria Gallucci
Updated

A U.S.-born NASA scientist was apparently one of the thousands of people ensnarled in the Trump administration's now-suspended travel ban.

Sidd Bikkannavar, a natural-born American citizen, said he was detained at Houston's international airport on Jan. 30, just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.

SEE ALSO: Scientists face 'nightmare' amid Trump's Muslim ban

Bikkannavar, who works in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was on his way back from Santiago, Chile, he told The Verge in an interview published Sunday.

The engineer moonlights as a driver of solar-powered racing cars, and he'd spent the last couple of weeks at a race in Patagonia.

Sidd Bikkannavar, who works in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also races solar-powered cars.
Sidd Bikkannavar, who works in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also races solar-powered cars.

Image: Sidd Bikkannavar/PrincipiaAlumni.org

Bikkannavar probably expected to breeze through the immigration and customs process at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. After all, the U.S. passport holder is part of Global Entry, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for "pre-approved, low-risk travelers." 

Instead, CBP officers pulled him aside and demanded that he turn over his work-issued phone and access PIN code, Bikkannavar first described in a Feb. 5 Facebook post.

In response to Mashable's request for comment, a CBP spokesperson said Monday in an email:

Mashable has also contacted Bikkannavar and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and will update this story with any responses.

Bikkannavar said he eventually turned over his phone and PIN code to the CBP agents, who sent him to a holding area where other detainees were sleeping on cots.

Nationwide, at least 940 people were prevented from boarding a plane between Jan. 27 — when the executive order took effect — and Feb. 1, the Washington Post reported, citing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 

The travel ban is now on hold after a federal judge in Seattle suspended the order on Feb. 3. Last week, an appeals court in San Francisco unanimously upheld that ruling, noting that states had raised serious allegations of religious discrimination.

Bikkannavar said the CBP officer finally returned his phone and allowed him to continue his journey home. 

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has since issued him a new phone and is now "running forensics" to determine whether the border officials had taken any data or installed a device on the phone, the NASA engineer said.

This story was updated Feb. 13, 2017 at 9:15 a.m. ET to include a response from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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