3 ms·

You're confused. It's the job of the TSA (or security guards at foreign airports) to search and clear you and your possessions for flying. They are preventing

by furyg3 15y ago

You're confused. It's the job of the TSA (or security guards at foreign airports) to search and clear you and your possessions for flying. They are preventing short-term threats, this is the last line of defense. This story is about US Customs and Border Patrol, who are responsible for a lot of things at airports as well as border crossings, including: 1) Making sure you are permitted to enter the country (checking or issuing visas). 2) Making sure you are not bringing anything illegal into the country. 3) Making sure you are not a "threat" to the US. You're a criminal, or associated with activist/terroris organizations which are hostile to the US, or are likely to commit a crime during your stay. Customs wasn't worried that this guy was going to blow up the next plane he got on. They were (stupidly) worried that he would (probably) cause trouble after he entered based on something somebody (might have) told them. So they played it safe and denied him entry. The evidence they used was dumb, but at the border there is something between "we have evidence that you're a criminal and we're arresting you" and "you seem like trouble so we're not letting you be our guest".

burgerbrain 15y ago
Oh no, I get all of that. But DHS is DHS as far as I care. If they sincerely thought that these people were a threat they would have been detained. They were not worried in the slightest however, and nobody "seemed like trouble". The agents were just being assholes. You see, the extent to which they posed a threat to the country they also posed a threat to the aircraft. (Not in the slightest, and everybody involved knew it.)
- furyg3 15y ago
  Counter-example: Normal guy, going to a conference, history of overstayed visas. He can get on the plane from Paris to New York, but he's not getting in (rightly so). TSA is not CBP, nor should they be. I'd much rather that all that money go toward (better) background checks by CBP instead of perfume-stealing by the TSA.
  - burgerbrain 15y ago
    I think it is pretty clear that in this case the rational of the CBP is that the two were 'dangerous', not that they messed up paperwork or violated visas. De-fund them all, they have proven that even they don't take themselves seriously.

by furyg3 15y ago

burgerbrain 15y ago

Oh no, I get all of that. But DHS is DHS as far as I care. If they sincerely thought that these people were a threat they would have been detained. They were not worried in the slightest however, and nobody "seemed like trouble". The agents were just being assholes. You see, the extent to which they posed a threat to the country they also posed a threat to the aircraft. (Not in the slightest, and everybody involved knew it.)

furyg3 15y ago
Counter-example: Normal guy, going to a conference, history of overstayed visas. He can get on the plane from Paris to New York, but he's not getting in (rightly so). TSA is not CBP, nor should they be. I'd much rather that all that money go toward (better) background checks by CBP instead of perfume-stealing by the TSA.
- burgerbrain 15y ago
  I think it is pretty clear that in this case the rational of the CBP is that the two were 'dangerous', not that they messed up paperwork or violated visas. De-fund them all, they have proven that even they don't take themselves seriously.