Man Asserts Rights At Border. Wins.

[mrjarrell]

This guy's a seasoned traveler and, when confronted by the inevitable interrogation at the border, he asserted his rights. The customs agents tried intimidation and that didn't work. They quickly gave in and the right to privacy triumphed. Remember this the next time you try coming back into your own country.

KNIFE TRICKS: I Am Detained By The Feds For Not Answering Questions

Update: After being seeing his post garner attention and quite a few questions, he answers some of them.

KNIFE TRICKS: 10 Brief Responses To 700 Comments About Refusing To Answer Questions At Passport Control

Kudos to him for taking a stand.

 

[jeremy]

tag for further reading...

 

[jbombelli]

Yeah, those in authority really hate when you refuse to play ball by answering every question they throw at you. Good for him for standing up and refusing to be interrogated before being "allowed" re-entry into his own country.

 

[Fletch]

Awesome find.

 

[jsgolfman]

+1

 

[LEaSH]

I'd be concerned that they will 'plant' contraband in my luggage if they feel that I've humiliated them or didn't bow down to the authority in their mind.

- I have not traveled out of the country in about 6 years and can't remember what questions were asked. Canada was always short and sweet getting back in. Probably not nowadays.

 

[Scutter01]

- I have not traveled out of the country in about 6 years and can't remember what questions were asked. Canada was always short and sweet getting back in. Probably not nowadays.

I grew up in Detroit and trips to Windsor were frequent. Windsor's border officials were always polite and friendly. Detroit's were always, ALWAYS surly and rude, sometimes bordering on downright obnoxious.

 

[Fletch]

I grew up in Detroit and trips to Windsor were frequent. Windsor's border officials were always polite and friendly. Detroit's were always, ALWAYS surly and rude, sometimes bordering on downright obnoxious.

Ayup.

 

[E5RANGER375]

great find. Im always glad to see Americans who have the nads to stand up for their rights.

 

[CarmelHP]

I was just discussing this with a friend from Guatemala (w/green card) who visited Niagara Falls but didn't enter Canada for fear of not being allowed back. Before 9/11, when my wife and I went to Canada to view from that side of the Falls, the Canadian official was pleasant and dressed in a civil police uniform but unarmed. Passing back, the U.S. official was loud, obnoxious, and dressed in BDUs, waving an M-4, not exactly welcoming. This country must come off as some sort of military dictatorship to visitors.

 

[ATOMonkey]

I've had the same experience coming back from canada the 2 times I've done it, through Buffalo and Detroit.

It was almost comical how hardass the American border guard was acting.

Makes you wonder how terrorists got in through canada.

 

[eldirector]

My last few trips to Canada went pretty smooth. I'd swear the Canadian border patrol officer was a teenager with a summer job. Didn't look at passports or anything. Just asked if I had weapons or booze. The US officer was 100% professional and business-only. A few questions, look at my passport and license plate, and threw I went. Some poor soul was having their SUV and boat disassembled for a search as I went by. Not sure what triggered that....

 

[Eddie]

I liked his response #9 to the comments. Guys like this, fighting small but successful battles, help preserve our rights.

 

[Blackhawk2001]

Can't get access to the article where I am at present, but I'll try to read it when I get home. The wife and I visited Canada in 2006 and didn't have any particular problems getting back into the country. Where we crossed in NY, we were right across the border from a city with several known al-Qaida cells (had to get a threat brief before I was allowed to cross the border - a military thing), but I didn't have any problems either way. The previous time I'd been to Canada was in 1980 at the other end of the country and I don't remember anything about that at all.

 

[88GT]

I was just discussing this with a friend from Guatemala (w/green card) who visited Niagara Falls but didn't enter Canada for fear of not being allowed back. Before 9/11, when my wife and I went to Canada to view from that side of the Falls, the Canadian official was pleasant and dressed in a civil police uniform but unarmed. Passing back, the U.S. official was loud, obnoxious, and dressed in BDUs, waving an M-4, not exactly welcoming. This country must come off as some sort of military dictatorship to visitors.

Only on our northern border, sir. Your friend wouldn't have a lick of trouble at our southern one.

 

[rmabrey]

Good to know. The only time i was out of the country was for a cruise, and coming back in they just looked at our passports. The drug sniffing dog was busy licking his junk. ( I assume it was drug sniffing)

 

[Armed & Christian]

Great articles! Thanks for the links, mrjarrell

 

[TopDog]

I have not been out of the country since I ran up to Canada in 1999. It was easy and friendly on both sides.

What I'm getting from the posts here is that now, the border authorities on the US side are hard ass on AMERICANS???? Our borders are a joke with illegals using them as unfettered accesss into this country and the border authorities give a hard time to Americans coming back into the country? WTF? Its one thing that our border security is a laughing stock its another to find out since they are ineffective (I wont use any other words to describe what is going on at the border, I don't want to get banned) at keeping illegals out they choose to harass American citizens.

Someone please tell me I'm just too old to understand anymore and what I perceive as ridiculous, just isn't so.

 

[308jake]

They harass a citizen returning home but yet they allow illegals to swarm in by the droves. What a F'd up country we call home.

If I didn't know better, I'd think they don't like us citizens.

 

[dross]

A small but very telling point that comes through reading this and other threads about interaction with the leading edge of the government is how often they bristle at the slightest brusque manner, but yet many of them are consistently rude.

I was getting on a flight once at DIA, and approached a huge maze of posts and tape to guide the human cattle to the security lines. I stopped to look, because at first I couldn't figure out where to go. There were arrows and a couple of ways you could go, but I couldn't tell what they were trying to indicate. While I was standing there trying to figure it out, I watched as several people approached and went the wrong way. The two TSA ladies standing there rudely redirected them. I saw this happen three times in a row. After they directed the people to the correct entrance, they laughed and talked about how stupid all the people were.

I thought how that incident was a microcosm of the problem of government. They had the power to be rude without retribution, but of course if a citizen is rude in return, they have the power to inconvenience that citizen. Also, it never occurred to them that if everyone was having trouble understanding their system, it was their stupidity at the poor construction of the system, and not those who failed to understand it.

I think every government worker who interacts with the public should have to present each person with whom they interact with a grade sheet. Grade on a curve. If their statistics are out of whack with their fellows, they enter a disciplinary process that should eventually lead to loss of pay, then loss of job. I'd bet we'd see a politeness upswing real fast.