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> If you[, a citizen of the United States,] ever get asked that question at the US border, please don't acquiesce to that request. Absolutely agreed. I will d

> If you[, a citizen of the United States,] ever get asked that question at the US border, please don't acquiesce to that request. Absolutely agreed. I will do this[0]. I'm a U.S. citizen with the unequivocal right to enter the country once my citizenship has been established. U.S. citizens are the only ones who can stand up to this madness--either at the border or by influencing and electing people who can change the written law and how it is enforced--and it's our responsibility to do so. I've entered the country several times and have never gotten more than a "passport, please" request (except, oddly, when driving south from Canada; they're rather surly at the Peace Arch, in my experience), which I recognize is very lucky of me. When I travel, I'm enough of a worry-wart that I build in a lot of spare time to get to and from my destination. "Do you want to fly today" and "you'll be screened for four additional hours" are threats that hold no weight with me, thankfully. I'm in no hurry. I'm the ideal test case. I have oodles of paid vacation time, a family full of lawyers, and a ornery streak a kilometer wide. Bring it. 0 - I can't say "I have done this" because it's never come up but I'm resolute. "No" is my answer, if it ever does, and I'm sticking with it.

sneak 9y ago
I have been that guy. All of 2009-2013 or so. After being locked in secondary with no comms, food, or water for hours on hours enough times, one gives up. CBP once kicked me out of a border control point in northern Vermont, in a snowstorm, in February. I had to hitchhike simply to not freeze (my sim didn't work, so no way to call a cab, and they had sent the bus on without me, hours earlier). I've been searched, both well and also simply as intimidation, more times than I can remember. Most searches are not thorough in any capacity, but simple displays of power and dominance. My foreign partners have been repeatedly groped by these pigs. Vacations have been ruined simply by traveling together - they deny foreigners entry. The file still haunts me. Every time I enter, secondary - with associated 30-500 minutes of delay. There's no recourse. I cringe every time I exit the US, for the 2-10 hours I will lose upon my next re-entry. Their capacity to waste your time is infinite. Your time is finite. PS: they can also take all your devices for imaging and keep them for 48 hours - but you will likely have to sue them to get them back after that time. Crossing in can be a >$10k/entry affair if they wish it to be, for you.
- wuschel 9y ago
  This sounds like the reprisals citizens of the totalitarian states in the Warsaw Pact had to endure. Heads up for pushing against it. Out of curiosity, do you know if there are any people trying to challenge these rulings/treatment they receive in court?
  - Cthulhu_ 9y ago
    At least in those - and I'm sure this still happens - you could bribe the officials. Actually is that possible in the US or do the border officials still have a stick up their arse? I mean if you work for a big multinational IT company, surely they can provide a few hundred bucks to bribe someone to skip security. Bribing the police is normal in a lot of countries.
    - gambiting 9y ago
      Yeah. My father described the experience of crossing borders between East Germany/Poland/Belarus/Ukraine in the 80s early 90s as the exact same theatre - " -sir, we have to strip your car to search it for contraband. -Ok, how long it's going to take? - About 24-48 hours, but it might take longer if we see anything suspicious - ok, what do I do in the meantime? - you can sit on the bench there - for 48 hours? - that's correct - I happen to have this nice bottle of vodka, would you like it as a thank you for your hard service? - hmmmm I have to check with my superior [ comes back 5 minutes later] - that's fine, we don't need to check your car today, have a safe journey" Nowadays I'm being told that this practice has been eradicated almost everywhere, but it basically relied on border control agents making your life as miserable as physically possible in hope that you will pay up. If you decided not to, they would eventually let you go, but you're wasting only your own time, they had infinite amount of it and perfect justification for everything they did.
    - justincormack 9y ago
      You can get a 10 year prison sentence or so for bribery. In any country in the world, you can be prosecuted there, or in the US or Europe. You will probably also be fired.
qmr 9y ago
PLEASE GET DETAINED.

sneak 9y ago

I have been that guy. All of 2009-2013 or so. After being locked in secondary with no comms, food, or water for hours on hours enough times, one gives up. CBP once kicked me out of a border control point in northern Vermont, in a snowstorm, in February. I had to hitchhike simply to not freeze (my sim didn't work, so no way to call a cab, and they had sent the bus on without me, hours earlier). I've been searched, both well and also simply as intimidation, more times than I can remember. Most searches are not thorough in any capacity, but simple displays of power and dominance. My foreign partners have been repeatedly groped by these pigs. Vacations have been ruined simply by traveling together - they deny foreigners entry. The file still haunts me. Every time I enter, secondary - with associated 30-500 minutes of delay. There's no recourse. I cringe every time I exit the US, for the 2-10 hours I will lose upon my next re-entry. Their capacity to waste your time is infinite. Your time is finite. PS: they can also take all your devices for imaging and keep them for 48 hours - but you will likely have to sue them to get them back after that time. Crossing in can be a >$10k/entry affair if they wish it to be, for you.

wuschel 9y ago
This sounds like the reprisals citizens of the totalitarian states in the Warsaw Pact had to endure. Heads up for pushing against it. Out of curiosity, do you know if there are any people trying to challenge these rulings/treatment they receive in court?
- Cthulhu_ 9y ago
  At least in those - and I'm sure this still happens - you could bribe the officials. Actually is that possible in the US or do the border officials still have a stick up their arse? I mean if you work for a big multinational IT company, surely they can provide a few hundred bucks to bribe someone to skip security. Bribing the police is normal in a lot of countries.
  - gambiting 9y ago
    Yeah. My father described the experience of crossing borders between East Germany/Poland/Belarus/Ukraine in the 80s early 90s as the exact same theatre - " -sir, we have to strip your car to search it for contraband. -Ok, how long it's going to take? - About 24-48 hours, but it might take longer if we see anything suspicious - ok, what do I do in the meantime? - you can sit on the bench there - for 48 hours? - that's correct - I happen to have this nice bottle of vodka, would you like it as a thank you for your hard service? - hmmmm I have to check with my superior [ comes back 5 minutes later] - that's fine, we don't need to check your car today, have a safe journey" Nowadays I'm being told that this practice has been eradicated almost everywhere, but it basically relied on border control agents making your life as miserable as physically possible in hope that you will pay up. If you decided not to, they would eventually let you go, but you're wasting only your own time, they had infinite amount of it and perfect justification for everything they did.
  - justincormack 9y ago
    You can get a 10 year prison sentence or so for bribery. In any country in the world, you can be prosecuted there, or in the US or Europe. You will probably also be fired.

qmr 9y ago

PLEASE GET DETAINED.