I Was Detained on the American Border (Terrifying Experience)

[Genghis khan1]

That isn’t done without reason usually.

Fortunately, since I have never encountered this situation throughout my immigrant experience (GC to Citizen) even though I was at one point traveling every week I cannot speak for others.

Back in the day I used to get flagged all the time because of my pretty common last name. Had to contact DHS redress line and later I applied for Global entry. Now it’s a breeze.

 

[khansaheeb]

Yeah
You also want to be very straight and to the point with these guys. No “I protest” or “I don’t like this”.

Unless you are aware of the right being violated - cooperate but don’t divulge needlessly.. i.e. no small talk and excessive dump of info. And in case you feel you are being harassed - ask for supervisor, go through the gauntlet but have a legal team available.
More often than not it comes in your favor

Yeh , that's where I went wrong in the pre-screening while waiting to get my boarding pass at checkin. Some black woman (on investigation a representative on behalf of TSA), was walking around asking questions. She came up to me and asked random questions and my firsts thoughts were mind your business woman but as she had a badge and was polite enough I decided to answer her questions as long as they weren't too intrusive. On reflection the question that most likely triggered the secondary screening was "are you travelling back to your home country and do you spend most of your time there and live there". Well that made me think, as my country is the UK and I spend most of my time in the US but a lot of time in the UK too. It was the slight delay in my answer that triggered her unjustified suspicion, unknown to me, and triggered an unjustified pat down and row with security contractors with me. I asked the security guys to prove they were authorised to do the additional security screening and they couldn't. They believed just because they had a badge they were authorised and I said to them no prove that you have been authorised, they called their manager who said he didn't have to prove it, lol. So it seems any random person with a badge can put you through a pat down and additional screening even though they are breach of the law through racial profiling. They pointed out that other foreign passengers were happy for a pat down, I told them that was their choice.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I asked the security guys to prove they were authorised to do the additional security screening and they couldn't. They believed just because they had a badge they were authorised and I said to them no prove that you have been authorised, they called their manager who said he didn't have to prove it, lol. So it seems any random person with a badge can put you through a pat down and additional screening even though they are breach of the law through racial profiling. They pointed out that other foreign passengers were happy for a pat down, I told them that was their choice.

So you basically pulled a "Karen"...well look what that got you.

 

[WotTen]

Truly shocking:-

It was truly horrible after 9/11. Every borderline racist TSO took it as a green light to harass people. I know people with and without Green Card who got disgusted and left USA forever.

I personally know a Muslim guy and his Hindu wife who was pregnant and both were kept in airport security for FOUR HOURS for no reason. Then a senior officer verified everything and apologized profusely.

 

[cloud4000]

Her van full of stuff made them suspicious...especially when she said she wasn't happy about pulling it all out (
a really bad idea to say that) ...and they replied basically we have all the time in the world....so she got the whole 9 yards of the searching.

She's a foreign national who admits she doesn't prepare properly. Look what she had to get the paperwork to get insurance! Immigration and customs officers are the same everywhere, surly and demanding. Trust me when I traveled to India and Bangladesh, at times, they made my life hell. Just do what they say. Just answer politely to their questions. US citizens might have more rights but foreign nationals can simply be denied entry.

But handcuffing a "guest"/tourist without any due cause at the country border and she has millions of followers.

You are literally using the "do you know who I am?" excuse. I didn't know she was a famous travel vlogger and I doubt the immigration officials knew or even cared. Remember she's a foreign national. Entering the United States is a privilege, not a right. This is true for all countries.

US gov should pay a compensation every time they put an innocent person through an ordeal.

I'm still waiting for compensation for the ordeal Indian and Bangladeshi officials put me through. And these guys were shameless in their corruption, often times openly asking for a bribe. I doubt I will get any compensation.

 

[khansaheeb]

So you basically pulled a "Karen"...well look what that got you.

What is a Karen?

What is a Karen?

Lol, I see:-
I love Wiki!

Karen (slang) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Karen is a pejorative term for a white person, particularly a woman, perceived as entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is normal.[1] The term is often portrayed in memes depicting white women who use their white privilege to demand their own way.[1][2] Depictions may include demanding to "speak to the manager", being racist, or even sporting a particular bob cut hairstyle.[3] A notable example was the Central Park birdwatching incident.

The term has been criticized as being ageist, sexist, racist, classist, misogynistic and seeking to control women's behavior.[3] As of 2020, the term increasingly appeared in media and social media as a general-purpose criticism of middle class white women, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests.[1] The term has also been applied to certain male behavior.[3][4] The Guardian called 2020 "the year of Karen".[5]

 

[khansaheeb]

Do You think it was because of Your; Pakistani heart, British Education, American brain or Islamic Values?

P.S. Yes I read Your biography.. *

Nah, some black over zealous woman trying to prove her wages. After decades of flying I consider it like being considered for Jury service, you just get randomly selected. I feel bad because I over reacted but mostly because I was just about to board the flight, that was the stupidest thing about it. I was there for 3 hours and they stop me 15 minutes before the flight is about to depart just as I was walking down the ramp onto the plane. But who knows PDF could have something to do with it lol, but why now after almost 2 decades of postings? Funny thing is American airlines first were refusing to divulge who authorised the secondary but after some legal threats blamed US TSA even though I was at Heathrow flying to Los Angeles. I interact with TSA frequently and got no complaints as I have been treated with immense respect other than the few shoes off incidents but then I appreciate they have a job to do and there are plenty of bad dudes out there.

 

[Wergeland]

In my younger days i used to feel annoyed by “extra checks”. Nowdays i dont care anymore because it is just one of those routine things that needs to be done before i get to my destination.

Whenever someone wants to extra check me i get really amused. Like …dude you fancy me so much that youre gonna take me to the side and start sctraching my ballz?

 

[dbc]

Unless you are aware of the right being violated

I think border control did the job they were hired to do and did it well. Individuals that present themselves at the border have to submit to search of person and possessions the only right they have is to the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.

 

[Joe Shearer]

That isn’t done without reason usually.

Fortunately, since I have never encountered this situation throughout my immigrant experience (GC to Citizen) even though I was at one point traveling every week I cannot speak for others.

Very disheartening to hear about that traveller's terrible experience. I should have hoped that the normal experience of a traveller, even today, would have been such as yours.

I have been detained thrice at immigration/entry control in over 500,000 miles of air travel.

Once, at Franz Liszt {Liszt Ferenc) Airport at Budapest, where the young immigration guard stared for many minutes at my visa with seeming incomprehension, before finally giving up trying to bore a hole through the page with his intense stare, and waved me in.

The second time, at Kuala Lumpur Airport, an identical incident happened; nothing wrong with my visa (here, too, there was not more than a glance at the rest of the passport document, that was stapled to my two earlier booklets, and contained a plethora of visas), and after nearly fifteen agonising minutes, I was passed in by an obviously sceptical but helpless officer.

The third time, at Kuwait, my visa stamp and passport number (on a separate piece of paper, not my passport page) clashed, and the numbers could not be read clearly. This time, it took nearly half an hour in segregation before they were satisfied about the bona fides.

These procedures have become increasingly difficult with every passing year. In 1986, it was possible for my wife to very kindly inform the immigration officer at Heath Row that she was not travelling alone, and pointed me out, twenty paces further away, still in queue, as her travelling companion, describing me as the bearded fellow who looked like a terrorist. Today, we should both have been put in strict detention while they satisfied themselves about our antecedents. Then, it only got a snigger from the wretch, and a wave of the hand for me to step up and get both passports stamped.

So you basically pulled a "Karen"...well look what that got you.

Hah!

Reddit junkie.

Trust me when I traveled to India and Bangladesh, at times, they made my life hell.

LOL.

No problems, all throughout, either India, returning from business travel, or in Bangladesh. In India, I aroused the contempt of Customs officials both at Delhi and at Mumbai, when I tried to pay for my excess liquor carriage (a bottle over the limit); they just weren't interested, and asked me to move on and let them focus on the big fish! Same thing, less drama at Bengaluru and Chennai and Kolkata.

 

[SQ8]

I think border control did the job they were hired to do and did it well. Individuals that present themselves at the border have to submit to search of person and possessions the only right they have is to the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.

That’s the idea - cooperate with people doing their job. There are exceptions with profiling and bias but those are a once in a blue moon.

But at the same time, trying to be overly cheeky or friendly that slows down people doing their job only makes them frustrated or suspicious

 

[ARMalik]

Truly shocking:-

She mentioned that she had been to Pakistan. This was the main reason she was detained. THE USA HATES AND DISDAINS PAKISTANIS, AND IT DISDAINS PEOPLE SO MUCH THAT THE IT IMPOSES CRIMINALS TO RULE PAKISTAN !! THIS IS THE GIFT THIS COWARD BAJWA HAS GIVEN US.

 

[Chat SAMOSA]

Hey I was walking through airport security at Logan casually chatting with a friend of mine when he got yanked to the side and given the extra secondary screening. He's Italian and I'm mostly Irish so I laughed afterwards that I guess the Red Brigades is more on the watch list than the IRA.

Bottom line is they pull people all the time.

It's quite random. Several times the white skin blue eye colleagues traveling with me have been pulled over - very irritating because I still have to await them instead of sipping ambrosia in the lounge.

Yeh , that's where I went wrong in the pre-screening while waiting to get my boarding pass at checkin. Some black woman (on investigation a representative on behalf of TSA), was walking around asking questions. She came up to me and asked random questions and my firsts thoughts were mind your business woman but as she had a badge and was polite enough I decided to answer her questions as long as they weren't too intrusive. On reflection the question that most likely triggered the secondary screening was "are you travelling back to your home country and do you spend most of your time there and live there". Well that made me think, as my country is the UK and I spend most of my time in the US but a lot of time in the UK too. It was the slight delay in my answer that triggered her unjustified suspicion, unknown to me, and triggered an unjustified pat down and row with security contractors with me. I asked the security guys to prove they were authorised to do the additional security screening and they couldn't. They believed just because they had a badge they were authorised and I said to them no prove that you have been authorised, they called their manager who said he didn't have to prove it, lol. So it seems any random person with a badge can put you through a pat down and additional screening even though they are breach of the law through racial profiling. They pointed out that other foreign passengers were happy for a pat down, I told them that was their choice.

If a guy or gal has a security badge in a security check area, he/she is not 'any random person'.. that's their job.

It is an annoyance but if one in 10000 leads to prevention of a hijack or other terror, ain't it worth it ?

 

[VCheng]

Nah, some black over zealous woman trying to prove her wages. After decades of flying I consider it like being considered for Jury service, you just get randomly selected. I feel bad because I over reacted but mostly because I was just about to board the flight, that was the stupidest thing about it. I was there for 3 hours and they stop me 15 minutes before the flight is about to depart just as I was walking down the ramp onto the plane. But who knows PDF could have something to do with it lol, but why now after almost 2 decades of postings? Funny thing is American airlines first were refusing to divulge who authorised the secondary but after some legal threats blamed US TSA even though I was at Heathrow flying to Los Angeles. I interact with TSA frequently and got no complaints as I have been treated with immense respect other than the few shoes off incidents but then I appreciate they have a job to do and there are plenty of bad dudes out there.

In a corner of the boarding card, check the number of the letter "S" printed. If four, like this: SSSS, always be prepared for secondary questioning, and act accordingly. It is not the fault of the CBP personnel. The screening is predetermined by many other factors, including the data in your profile.

 

[JX-1]

like this: SSSS

It's no big deal - even Shah Rukh Khan got SSSS'd: