Note to self...

[b etor]

when we come home from canada, my dad lies about how long we've been there so we can take more alcohol back with us.

i've never gotten searched. was it fun?

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Wezil
Exactly Krill. No doubt the kids were traumatized by the ordeal. A simple apology by the officers in front of the family would have gone a long way.

Yup-- I don't blame the officers for doing what they did in apprehending him but a little courtesy afterward would have been nice

[Japher]

i've never gotten searched. was it fun?

They just patted us down and had some dog sniff us. I named the dog "hosehead", the guard didn't find it funny.

No way, you hoser!

[rah]

Yes they were just doing their job, but that doesn't mean they can't show a little courtesy. Geeze.
What would it have cost them? PRIDE. If you're working as a glorified security guard, any pride issues should already be resolved.

[Mrs. Tuberski]

i dont think an apology is necesary. Those guys were doing their jobs. Id expect the same thing from the candaian side. A potental threat is supposed to be handled as a real threat. Have we not learned anything form 911? Terrorists and criminals mask them selves in all different clothes. Suppose the guy was a murderer and the lady and kids were kidnapped, the story would be different and the us would have been criticized for not having stiffer precautions. Like it was said earlier you cant have it both ways.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Mrs. Tuberski
i dont think an apology is necesary. Those guys were doing their jobs. Id expect the same thing from the candaian side. A potental threat is supposed to be handled as a real threat. Have we not learned anything form 911? Terrorists and criminals mask them selves in all different clothes. Suppose the guy was a murderer and the lady and kids were kidnapped, the story would be different and the us would have been criticized for not having stiffer precautions. Like it was said earlier you cant have it both ways.

Someone else that missed the point.

Their actions when they thought they had a possible terror suspect is not the issue. What is the issue is their behaviour after they knew they had screwed up.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Patroklos
So what are we supposed to do: "Hmmmm. Somewhat similar name. Somewhat similar birthdays. Travelling with wife and kids in the car. Hey, let's pull guns on him and his wife, put them in handcuffs, and scare the **** out of everyone!"

You can't have it both ways. Security means inconveniance. Too much security means too much incoventiance.

Fixed whew!

[Theben]

We treat Canadians with the same courtesy and due respect as we do to Mexicans. Unless you think Canadians are better people.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Theben
We treat Canadians with the same courtesy and due respect as we do to Mexicans. Unless you think Canadians are better people.

Nope just from a country to which we are glad to return. If things weren't so dang cheap south of our border due to their weak currency, we wouldn't even bother to pop down.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Americans are better armed.

Yes. According to one of them weird "Amendment" things they've got, apparently Americans' arms come from grizzly bears.

And those are pretty mean-ass animals right there.

[Wezil]

How far is the border for you Flubber? And what kind of delays?

Port Huron happens to be my closest. It is an hour away. Windsor/Detroit and Niagara/Buffalo are about 2 hours away.

Delays at all run .5 to 1.5 hours.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Mrs. Tuberski
i dont think an apology is necesary. Those guys were doing their jobs. Id expect the same thing from the candaian side. A potental threat is supposed to be handled as a real threat. Have we not learned anything form 911? Terrorists and criminals mask them selves in all different clothes. Suppose the guy was a murderer and the lady and kids were kidnapped, the story would be different and the us would have been criticized for not having stiffer precautions. Like it was said earlier you cant have it both ways.

I think what you are missing is that saying that the border folks should apologize for the inconvenience is not saying the border guards did anything wrong. ITs just that in acting correctly they did inconvenience an innocent foreign national and upset his children. It would not have been a bad thing to be nice to the parents in front of the kipds and maybe even give the kids a flag or pin or whatever crap the touristy folks would be giving out.

ITs not necessary or required but its the decent thing to do and what's wrong with a little courtesy??

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Patroklos
So what are we supposed to do. "hmmmm. Same name. Same birthday. But the haircut is different, and he has facial hair. Yep, not enough, let him through."

Wrong. "Similar name and date of birth." So it sounds like the biodate didn't even match -- and the guy's name was "Jeff Thomas," fer chrissake, so it's not like he had a unique name (try it in Google, in quotation marks; I get 148,000 hits). Sounds like somebody had either too much coffee that day, or too little training. Based on my professional interactions with CBP agents, I'd guess the latter.

You can't have it both ways. Security means inconveniance.

It's not security vs. inconvenience; it's securituy vs. disrespect. Knowing -- as they should have known, even though they're part of DHS's cadre of trained chimps -- that they only had an approximate match to an incredibly common name, they certainly didn't need to immediately cuff the guy. And they absolutely owe him an abject apology.

BTW, this kind of thing happens in US airports all the time, and it happens to guys with names like "Mohammed Said," not "Jeff Thomas." They are not cuffed in full view of the passport line; they are escorted to secondary for further questioning. So it's not like CBP doesn't already have an acceptable procedure in place. Sounds like bad training, again.

[DinoDoc]

Hey at least they stopped him. If it had been a real criminal, they might have just as easily waive him through as they did with TB guy.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Wezil
How far is the border for you Flubber? And what kind of delays?

Port Huron happens to be my closest. It is an hour away. Windsor/Detroit and Niagara/Buffalo are about 2 hours away.

Delays at all run .5 to 1.5 hours.

Pretty much 3 hours to the Montana Border. delays at the Border stations where I crossed were less than 10 minutes-- There was no lineup of cars and the questions were cursory-- The last border guard did question my dad for about 90 seconds with such penetrating questions as the grades and subjects he taught ( maybe the beard made him look guilty)

I have only crossed near the national park at a border station that closes late at night. It might be a little quicker to go to the station on the highway but I never needed to go down that way sicne I was headed to Glacier National Park on the US side anyway