A Winnipeg man said United States border officials detained him and his family for seven hours.

Abdelkrim Boulhout said the family was headed to Grand Forks to celebrate their youngest son’s first birthday and go to a waterpark.

They arrived at the Pembina border crossing on Saturday and were ushered inside.

Boulhout said he was questioned for seven hours while his family waited.

“They didn’t treat me like a Canadian citizen. It’s like a second class Canadian citizen,” he said.

Boulhout said he doesn’t know why he was detained.

He said he’s lived in Canada since 1987, and became a citizen in 1992. His four children were all born in Canada.

Boulhout has even completed a criminal record check for his work at CP Rail, which came back clean.

“I never had any trouble with the law, ever before,” he said.

Boulhout’s family said no one told them what was going on.

In an email statement, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) told CTV News, it "takes safety seriously and makes accommodations such as offering food and drink to those in custody while they are being processed."

However, Boulhout's wife said the children were hungry, and no one offered them food.

Boulhout's children said they were scared by what happened.

“We were hungry and we were crying for food and nobody wanted to give us food,” said nine-year-old Sara Boulhout.

Five-year-old Youzef Boulhout said he thought his father was in jail, and eight year old Mohemd Boulhout said the border guard asked why he wanted to come to the U.S.

“They said why are you coming to this country, you could go to Canada to the other waterpark.”

After seven hours Boulhout said U.S. border officials told him he could go back to Canada.

He said they asked him to sign a document stating he understood why they denied him entry. Boulhout said officials did not list any reasons on the form.

“When I told him I’m not going to sign it, he said you’re not going to sign it? I’m going to handcuff you and put you in a cell,” said Boulhout.

Boulhout signed the form and returned home. He said Canadian and American border officials have not told him why he was detained.

The Canadian Border Services Agency told CTV it was an American issue.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said they’re looking into what happened.

A CBP spokesperson told CTV individual cases couldn't be discussed due to privacy laws and for law enforcement reasons.

The CBP said it denies thousands of individuals each year on grounds of inadmissibility.

It lists reasons on its website why people may be denied entry into America.

People who feel they’ve been wrongly denied entry can file a claim with the Department of Homeland Security Traveler Redress Inquiry Program.