You land at a US airport, flash your Global Entry card, and expect a smooth walk to baggage claim. For Indian-American author and entrepreneur Neal Bakshi, that routine homecoming after a Greenland holiday ended in a windowless holding room.
Bakshi, a US citizen born and raised in New Jersey, took to social media to share his ordeal. Despite using a trusted-traveler program meant to expedite entry, border officers pulled him aside for secondary screening. What followed highlights a growing friction point at American ports of entry: the thin line between national security checks and perceived profiling for legal travelers of color.
The Reality of Secondary Screening for US Citizens
Most people assume that holding a blue passport grants an unbothered, friction-free re-entry into the United States. Technically, Customs and Border Protection cannot deny entry to a US citizen. However, they can detain, question, and search travelers—including citizens—to verify identity, check for contraband, or evaluate security risks.
Bakshi noted that being selected for extra checks wasn't entirely new to him, having experienced sporadic random checks since his teenage years. But this instance felt entirely different. He was escorted into a windowless, sallow-lit holding room where, by his observation, every other person waiting was also a person of color.
Officers kept him in the dark about the reason for his detention until the very end of the encounter. Later, in a smaller room, they pressed him for deep personal data and questioned his affiliations with specific groups, eventually telling him the interrogation was for his "own safety" amid global conflicts.
The Broader Context of Border Scrutiny
This incident didn't happen in a vacuum. It lands squarely in an era of heightened immigration enforcement under the Donald Trump administration, where tighter entry measures, visa crackdowns, and aggressive border protocols are heavily emphasized to curb security risks.
While government officials maintain that these rigid procedures are vital for national defense, civil rights advocates and frequent travelers point to a troubling pattern. Legal residents, Green Card holders, and naturalized or native-born citizens frequently report being subjected to intense questioning, device searches, and prolonged detentions.
When trusted programs like Global Entry fail to bypass secondary screening, travelers are left wondering what triggers the algorithm or the officer's discretion. Is it travel from uncommon destinations like Greenland? Or do demographic factors still play an unacknowledged role in who gets pulled aside?
What You Should Know If You Travel Abroad
If you are a US citizen facing a secondary screening or unexpected border interrogation, understanding your rights can prevent a stressful situation from escalating.
- You cannot be denied entry: Unlike foreign nationals or visa holders, a US citizen has an absolute legal right to enter the country. Border agents cannot refuse you entry, though they can temporarily detain you to investigate potential crimes or customs violations.
- Document everything: If you are subjected to extended detention, note badge numbers, times, and the nature of the questions asked. Public accountability and transparency remain some of the few tools travelers have against systemic overreach.
- Know your device rights: While border agents have broad authority to search luggage and check customs declarations, the rules surrounding electronic device searches (phones, laptops) are under continuous legal scrutiny.
As border enforcement tightens across international airports, stories like Bakshi's force a hard look at a fundamental question: does everyone experience the exact same standard of citizenship at the nation's gates, or do some travelers pay a hidden tax of suspicion just for walking through the door?
