Hi AAaLot,

I am very sorry to hear about what happened to your uncle.

There have been quite a number of discussions about terrible treatment of both citizens and non-citizens at entry points to the United States over in Travel Safety / Security forum.

After 30 years of travel, a new problem for me at Customs

Unfortunately, there probably isn't much recourse for your uncle. He might have to expect that this treatment will continue, since whatever list his name showed up on is probably still out there and still wrong. In other words, he may have to brace himself for similar treatment whenever he enters the country. Can I ask where he's from and if he has a very common name?

At the end of his detention, I assume nothing was explained to him about what landed him there?