This is really sad. As an immigrant I always thought this was coming. I never fly on a muslim airlines like Etihad to Turkish even though they are more convenient, I do not accept friend requests from muslims people on LinkedIN and Facebook.
A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
101–110 of 464 posts
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#102Conceivably, it's quite possible he had information which is subject to ITAR regulations, including data about sensors, mirrors. At the very least, he probably had sensor vendor specifications which are trade secrets and often covered under NDAs.
Did you bother to read the article? He was detained coming into the country. Just call a spade a spade. Trump wrote a shitty, racist executive order and people from all walks of life who happen to have one thing in common, a Muslim sounding name, are caught up in it.
How is "Sidd Bikkannavar" even remotely "Muslim sounding"? It's a Hindu name. He probably shortened it from "Siddarth" Bikkannavar to Sidd Bikkannavar like most Hindus in foreign countries do. Bikkannavar is a place in Karnataka, India. Maybe that is his parent's place of origin.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#103As a EU citizen, I see these events from a bit different angle. I have visited US several times and the atmosphere and behaviour of both the customs officers and the TSA personnel gets more and more overlooking.
I have never went through such extended search but going across a US airport feels really uncomfortable, to the extent I haven't seen in another country (UK comes close, though). The thing is Trump only added a little bit. This is a process that has been evolving for some time already.
I wonder if anything would change if all US travellers to Europe would be given a leaflet explaining:
"As a reciprocal measure for ESTA or Visa process, you are obliged to pay $14 entry fee. Moreover, we will perform an extended search to every fifth American passport holder. During the search, we may seize your devices and ask for your passwords. Not complying may result in a detention up to 24 hours and/or denied entry."
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#104The former prime minister of Norway was recently detained at the border for previously having visited Iran. Think about that, prime minister of a NATO allied country. The border rules (even before Trump) are whack.
He was detained after Trump was elected, although it is true that CBP claimed the holdup was due to Obama-era rules.
> He was detained after Trump was elected.
So? The rules were in place before Trump were elected. Let see what else what other laws we can apply to this logic.
* [Equal pay occurs even] after Trump was elected, although it is true that [Equal Pay Act of 1963] was due to JFK-era rules.
* [National Parks exist] after Trump was elected, although it is true that [National Park Service Organic Act] was due to Woodrow Wilson-era rules.
Hes not the greatest guy by far, but don't blame Trump for the mistakes of previous administrations.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#105US citizens can not be prohibited re-entry into the US.
Really? We MURDERED a US citizen abroad.
The legality (indeed, constitutionality) of that action is extremely suspect. Most of the War on Terror rests on extremely tortuous legal interpretations, and large portions of it have failed to hold up in court.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem is, the reason it does win votes, and the reason a lot of people want "law and order" and "tough on crime", is because they reason it won't apply to them, but to "those people". What is "those people" defined by in their minds, at least to a first a approximation before they consciously reason about it? Race. Now, they might think in terms of it being for thugs and terrorists, instead of black people and…
Xenophobia != surveillance state or totalitarianism For example japan or poland are fairly xenophobic and isolationist, but they don't practice a surveillance state or ask for your social media accounts at the border. Foreigners are free to enter as long as they don't overstay their welcome. I would say that xenophobia is the natural state of homogeneous populations. Everything different is treated with suspicioun, b…
I am not saying xenophobia inevitably leads to searching phones. But in the US, right now, the justification for the surveillance state is in a big part due to xenophobia and race relations. It is a major factor in the current pathology and we ignore it at our peril.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#107I don't see what this has to do with Trump's travel restrictions, other than it coincidentally happened at the same time. If the author is trying to imply this correlation is causation, there is no evidence in the article. That being said, no American should have to have his phone searched at the border, even with the stated border exceptions to the Fourth Amendment.
I hope you realize the job of the president is to instruct these agencies on how to conduct their operations. Don't defend people (CBP employees) which are are acting immorally, and possibly illegally. The Nazis said they were "just doing their job", and that defense did not stand up at the Nuremberg trials. Anyone who enforces orders of questionable legality is part of the problem (such as those executing these race…
Who is excusing it? All people are saying is that this is a failing of previous administrations.
Bush set a lot of these rules up, and Obama strengthened them.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#108Another terrifying part of this, is due to the nature of networks, when one of your "friends" becomes compromised, your private message do too. This goes way past national security, and 7 countries.
I have former coworkers from Syria, Iran, and Iraq. They're great people, and are great programmers. I friended them on Facebook many years ago, and now when one of them is caught at a border it's not just their private messages being raided... its my own anti-trump messages.
This needs to stop here.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#109Here's the Customs and Border Patrol policy in question [0] (see page 31). The EFF has a nice write-up on this topic [1]. It sounds like there's a "border search exemption" that bypasses the Fourth Amendment. The rationale was to ensure duties were paid and screen for "bad guys," drugs, weapons, diseased fruit, etc. [0] https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy... [1] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/…
On the bright side, it seems like more light is being shown on these long-standing terrible policies now that Trump is president...
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
Broader anti-racism and anti-racist-media action is needed, because otherwise this kind of arbitrary brutal border policy will win votes. This is an issue much bigger than race and as soon as we stop compartmentalizing it into that it will be better for us all. You turn it into another about race thing and people will tune out. You make people realize they are at risk no matter who they are and they might pay attenti…
Not sure why you are down-voted but this is true. Most of the anti-liberty policies come in disguise of we v/s bad guy arguments. The bad guys are often minorities.
> The bad guys are often minorities.
I've observed this pattern: 'bad guy' is part of another group? That whole group is bad. 'bad guy' is part of the group of the person speaking: That's just an individual rotten apple, but it does not say anything about all of us.