'90-minute verbal tussle': Lawyer for student protestor detained by federal agents in Detroit
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland on February 20, 2025 (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
On Sunday, April 6, Dearborn, Michigan-based attorney Amir Makled was returning from a visit to the Dominican Republic when he was detained by federal agents for roughly 90 minutes at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Makled, who is representing Samantha Lewis — a pro-Palestinian demonstrator arrested at the University of Michigan in 2024 — described the experience during an interview with the Detroit Free Press.
According to Detroit Free Press reporter Tresa Baldas, Makled was "questioned about his clients and asked to give up his cellphone" but "stood his ground" and "didn't give up his phone."
Makled explained to the Free Press, "So, I tell them, 'I know you can take my phone. I'm not going to give you my phone, however.... 90 percent of my work is on my phone. You're not getting unfettered access to (it).'"
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Baldas reports, "What followed was a 90-minute, back-and-forth verbal tussle between Makled and two federal agents, who, he said, ultimately released him without taking his phone, but looked at his contacts list instead. For the 38-year-old civil rights and criminal defense attorney, it was a daunting experience that he says highlights a troubling phenomenon that's occurring across the United States: Lawyers are getting targeted for handling issues the administration of President Donald Trump disagrees with."
Trump, in March, sent the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) a memo urging sanctions against attorneys he is accusing of making "rampant fraud and meritless claims" in the immigration system.
Makled, however, points out that he is not an immigration attorney.
Makled told the Free Press, "This current administration is doing something that no administration has done — they are attacking attorneys. 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. We have an obligation as lawyers to stand up to this stuff."
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Read the full Detroit Free Press article at this link.
