Indian-origin American author and entrepreneur Neal Bakshi says he was detained and questioned by U.S. border officers after returning from a vacation in Greenland, an encounter he says left him concerned about whether travellers of different backgrounds are being treated equally.
Bakshi, who was born and raised in the United States and is the son of Indian immigrants, described the incident in a video posted on Instagram. He said he was stopped after arriving in the U.S. from Greenland despite using Global Entry, a trusted-traveller program designed to expedite entry for pre-approved travellers.
According to Bakshi, officers initially told him he had been selected for random additional screening. He said he had undergone secondary screening on previous occasions, but described this experience as “drastically different.”
Bakshi alleged that officers did not explain why he was being taken for additional processing until near the end of the encounter. He also claimed that the other people waiting in the processing area were people of colour.
He said he was later taken to a smaller room where officers requested extensive personal information and questioned him about possible affiliations with certain groups. According to Bakshi, he was ultimately told the questioning was being conducted for his own safety.
Bakshi also recounted witnessing an exchange between a border officer and an elderly Hispanic woman who did not speak English. He alleged the officer spoke harshly to the woman and accused her of being dishonest.
While acknowledging that border authorities have a responsibility to identify legitimate security threats, Bakshi said his experience raised broader questions about whether some groups of Americans are subjected to greater scrutiny at the border than others.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection had not issued an official response to Bakshi’s allegations at the time of the report.
The incident comes amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. The U.S. government has pursued a range of changes affecting immigration, visas and border-entry procedures as part of a broader effort to strengthen border security and curb illegal immigration.
Administration officials maintain that tougher enforcement measures are necessary for national security and immigration control. Immigration advocates, however, have raised concerns about reports of additional questioning involving legal travellers, including U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
Similar accounts have emerged from travellers who say they were selected for additional screening despite carrying valid documents or participating in trusted-traveller programs such as Global Entry.
Bakshi’s allegations have not been independently confirmed, and no official explanation for his additional screening was provided in the source report.
