STOCKTON —
Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva said he has nothing to hide after revealing Thursday he was detained at the San Francisco International Airport on Sept. 28 when returning from a mayor’s conference in China.
“It wasn’t the greatest experience, I was briefly detained by the Department of Homeland Security,” Silva said.
Authorities confiscated his cell phone and laptop and demanded passwords for the devices, according to Silva.
The mayor of Stockton said he wasn’t given the option to have a lawyer present during the search but said no illegal activity will show up on anything he handed over.
“They’re going to find a bunch of pictures and videos of China and my visit there and Chinese companies and technology,” he said.
This isn’t the first time the mayor has been questioned at an airport.
Silva said when he returned to the Sacramento International Airport two months ago he was also questioned and said he now feels targeted.
“I think somehow I’ve set off a red flag,” Silva said.
Silva said those red flags may have been booking a ticket the day of his return from China and parking in an hourly spot when coming back from a three-day trip to Mexico.
“I don’t judge other people. I hope they won’t judge me until they have all the facts,” he said.
Calls to the Department of Homeland Security went unanswered.
The U.S. Attorney General’s Office in Sacramento has no comment.
