“Are you from California?” said the political consultant, who confirmed from Los Angeles that he was detained at the airport

Senior Los Angeles political adviser Rick Taylor said he was pulled aside by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents when he returned abroad and asked if he was from California, then separated from his family and placed in a detention center with several Latino travelers for nearly an hour.

“I know how the system works and keeps in good contact, and I’m still freaking out. I can only imagine how I would feel if I didn’t understand the language and I didn’t know anyone,” Taylor, 71.

Taylor said he was overwhelmed with explaining why he was picked out for additional questions, but he speculated that it might be because his suitcase was filled with Obama-debunking T-shirts.

Taylor was on vacation from Turks and Caicos with his wife and daughter, when CBP agents asked, “Are you from California?” He said he replied, “Yes, I live in Los Angeles.”

The man who ran for Los Angeles’ last Republican mayor and current Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, a budding LA city council candidate in the 1990s, found himself escorted to a waiting room and separated from his family.

Taylor said there that he waited for 45 minutes without being released, accusing him of being detained and intimidated by CBP agents.

“I don’t know why I’m going to be a target,” Taylor’s adviser said, re-selecting a consultant for Los Angeles City Councilman Traci Park. “They don’t talk to you. They don’t give you a reason. You’re just confused, angry and worried.”

This story is First reported by Westside Current.

Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the incident was thought of Senator Alex Padilla, who was arrested and handcuffed on June 12 while trying to raise questions during a Los Angeles press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“My former chief of staff and political adviser Rick Taylor was detained at Miami International Airport by federal authorities after returning from the international holiday,” he said in an email. “As Senator Alex Padilla said a few weeks ago, ‘If I could happen, it could happen to anyone.” The federal government’s actions were out of control!

A representative for the Florida Customs and Border Protection said the investigations received by the Los Angeles Times and Friday afternoon are likely to be answered next week.

“If Mr. Taylor feels necessary, he is very welcome to file a complaint online on our website and someone will contact him and try to get into trouble,” CBP public affairs expert Alan Regalado said in an email.

Taylor, a partner at Dakota Communications, a strategic communications and marketing company, said he is more concerned about traveling and returning to the United States with his wife, American citizens and Vietnamese.

He said he contacted Trump administration members before leaving the holiday to ask if he could contact the person in case his wife was detained.

The family flew to American Airlines and landed in Miami on June 20, where he planned to visit friends before returning to Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Taylor’s wife and daughter are global entry cardholders, both through the security breeze, while Taylor, who has no global entry, was detained.

He said he put a small orange tag on his passport after the agent confirmed he was a Los Angeles resident and was told to follow the green line. That took him to another agent and his final grip room.

Taylor described the “95% of the population” in the room as Latino, speaking largely Spanish.

“I’m one of three white guys in the room,” he said. “I’ve been wondering, ‘What am I doing here?'”

The lack of communication was “very daunting” even though he was allowed to keep his phone and did send text messages to his family updates.

“I’ve traveled a lot internationally but never got pulled aside,” he said.

Taylor said about 45 minutes in his holdings, a broker asked him to collect his luggage and hand it over to inspect.

He said he was released soon.

“The agents succeeded in reevaluating my travel,” Taylor said. “I would tell others to think twice before I take charge of this administration.”