Sidd Bikkannavar was forced to unlock his NASA phone
A US-born Muslim scientist was detained at the George Bush International Airport in Houston, Texas on Monday, January 30th and forced to give his NASA-issued phone and access PIN, The Verge reported.
Sidd Bikkannavar, a decade old employee of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was on his way back from South American where he went to participate in a solar-powered car racing event.
Bikkannayar told to The Verge that he was detained by US Customs and Border Patrol and pressured to give the CBP agents his phone, which may have contained sensitive material that wasn’t supposed to be shared.
“He (officer) takes me into an interview room and sort of explains that I’m entering the country and they need to search my possessions to make sure I’m not bringing anything dangerous,” Bikkannavar told The Verge.
“I was cautiously telling him I wasn’t allowed to give it out, because I didn’t want to seem like I was not cooperating… I told him I’m not really allowed to give the passcode; I have to protect access. But he insisted they had the authority to search it,” he said.
Bikkannavar is a natural-born US citizen enrolled in Global Entry – a program that allows expedited entry to the country.
“I asked a question, Why was I Chosen? And he wouldn’t tell me,” Bikkannayar told The Verge.
“Sometimes I get stopped and searched, but never anything like this. Maybe you could say it was one huge coincidence that this thing happens right at the travel ban,” he added.
According to the report, cyber-security team at the JPL did not seem very happy about the incident. Bikannavar handed over the phone to JPL and they issue him a new phone and number.
Social Media Update:
this is from an IRL friend of mine. this is NOT my america. EVER. #MuslimBan Siid is a US Citizen. @CustomsBorder u say "Welcome Home" #NASA pic.twitter.com/W4UtF88rJy
— Nick Adkins (@nickisnpdx) February 6, 2017