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A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

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Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

#391

Post by portpecos »

mozumder wrote: post #381
zdmc wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. I was flagged for "secondary inspection" at the southern border. (Mind you, I am as white as you can get). Long story, short. I acted like a bit of an entitled jerk, and was surrounded by 15 CBP agents, had my head slammed on a metal table, cuffed, phone and wallet taken, and then I was taken to a windowless room (with a couple of older Hispanic guys who I remember thinking could be "disappeared" fairly easily…

You are correct that you pretty much have no rights at the border. The moment you step outside the US, you can be killed by US a drone strike, or the CPB agent can simply shoot you if they wish. It's a broken hole in our system that needs to change, but don't expect any change for at least 2-4 years.

>It's a broken hole in our system that needs to change, but don't expect any change for at least 2-4 years.

Why didn't Obama do anything about it?

Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

#392

Post by justin »

mozumder wrote: post #381
zdmc wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. I was flagged for "secondary inspection" at the southern border. (Mind you, I am as white as you can get). Long story, short. I acted like a bit of an entitled jerk, and was surrounded by 15 CBP agents, had my head slammed on a metal table, cuffed, phone and wallet taken, and then I was taken to a windowless room (with a couple of older Hispanic guys who I remember thinking could be "disappeared" fairly easily…

You are correct that you pretty much have no rights at the border. The moment you step outside the US, you can be killed by US a drone strike, or the CPB agent can simply shoot you if they wish. It's a broken hole in our system that needs to change, but don't expect any change for at least 2-4 years.

>Why didn't Obama do anything about it?

Responding to the above, Obama did do something: he presided over the first extrajudicial assassination of a US citizen by drone strike.

Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

#393

Post by tracker1 »

portpecos wrote: post #391
mozumder wrote: post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are correct that you pretty much have no rights at the border. The moment you step outside the US, you can be killed by US a drone strike, or the CPB agent can simply shoot you if they wish. It's a broken hole in our system that needs to change, but don't expect any change for at least 2-4 years.

>It's a broken hole in our system that needs to change, but don't expect any change for at least 2-4 years. Why didn't Obama do anything about it?

Frankly, despite initial campaign promises during his first campaign, hes been as bad or worse than the GWB administration in a number of ways. Why he got a pass on a lot of it is beyond me.

Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

#394

Post by kchoudhu »

corford wrote: post #156
waqf wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious, can you tell me what bad experiences EU passport holders have, or fear to have, at UK airports?

Dilapidated arrival halls, endless lines and queues in the peak season, aggressive UK Border posters everywhere that make you feel like you're entering a prison visiting lounge, face/RFID scanners that frequently crap out, miserable/hostile border staff barking at you. I felt like a harassed cow going through an industrialised slaughter house the last time I flew in to Gatwick in the Summer. Quite a contrast when you…

My wife and I used the UK for a base last summer for a European tour. Big mistake: it doesn't matter which airport you're flying into: the lines are 80 miles long at LHR, the border agents at LGW look like it's 4:45PM on Friday no matter the day of the week, and a bottle of water costs 3 GBP at LCY.

We could have avoided all of this idiocy by simply moving our base of operations to a Schengen country -- no internal border checks, halfway competent security personnel and less stress overall.

Pity -- London was not terrible once you got into it.

Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

#395

Post by benevol »

anigbrowl wrote: post #263
cylinder wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just don't give them any passwords or unlock anything if you are a US citizen. Let them try to detain a US citizen indefinitely for it.

CBP have deported US citizens in the past. 'Accidentally,' of course. Fun fact: if you are mistakenly placed in immigration detention, you're not automatically entitled to a hearing until 6 months have passed, so you'd better hope someone knows to file a habeas petition on your behalf. In fact you're not automatically entitled to a hearing at all, but that was the working compromise established last time this ended u…

> CBP have deported US citizens in the past. 'Accidentally,' of course.

And to think that there are actually still people attracted to such a system and wanting to immigrate. It is amazing.

Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

#396

Post by adrienne »

legostormtroopr wrote: post #104
superfx wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 Wils…

National parks (and, probably, equal pay) are about to NOT exist, precisely because they existed before Trump was elected.

Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

#397

Post by LyndsySimon »

theoh wrote: post #323
leakybit wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. It's your constitutional right as a US citizen to tell any Law Enforcement agent to go fuck themselves. 1. They need a warrant to search your phone if you don't voluntary give them access. 2. Even if they have a warrant, you can plead 5th and just not give them the pin. The American way is all about not trusting the government, believing in conspiracy theories, and stocking up on ammo.

Believing in conspiracy theories is, ironically, a way of attributing more power to the state/elite than it actually has. You're celebrating pathological thinking, especially when you claim that stocking up on ammo contributes to the functioning of a nation (in the loosest sense of "nation"). The days of militias are long gone.

> The days of militias are long gone.

That's an interesting position, considering my state is still funding an organized state militia: http://www.vdf.virginia.gov/

Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

#398

Post by purple-again »

mozumder wrote: post #381
zdmc wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. I was flagged for "secondary inspection" at the southern border. (Mind you, I am as white as you can get). Long story, short. I acted like a bit of an entitled jerk, and was surrounded by 15 CBP agents, had my head slammed on a metal table, cuffed, phone and wallet taken, and then I was taken to a windowless room (with a couple of older Hispanic guys who I remember thinking could be "disappeared" fairly easily…

You are correct that you pretty much have no rights at the border. The moment you step outside the US, you can be killed by US a drone strike, or the CPB agent can simply shoot you if they wish. It's a broken hole in our system that needs to change, but don't expect any change for at least 2-4 years.

The CPB agent can just shoot you if he wishes? That's some seriously ridiculous hyperbole. No American is getting shot by border agents on a whim.

Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

#399

Post by kchoudhu »

mrtksn wrote: post #155
waqf wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious, can you tell me what bad experiences EU passport holders have, or fear to have, at UK airports?

Currently, when an EU citizen enters UK from the Heathrow Airport we can just scan our passports on the machine and get through. Usually there would be a nice lady to assist you if you are having trouble with the scanning. Usually there isn't even other personnel around. I never encountered any checks or questioning. But then again, the British tend to be very civil and I can't imagine getting a treatment similar to…

Try being a non-EU citizen using London as a base for a summer travel, and being required to interact with Border Force wankers on every transit through the country. They're invasively racist at every turn: Here's a credit card and a reservation at a niceish hotel. You aren't convinced that we won't be a burden on your ratty public purse? Alas. How about an onward ticket for tomorrow evening? No? Hmm. Ok, here's a bank statement. Is that enough zeroes for you? Great! Yes, this is our daughter. Yes, she does have a rather lovely tan. I'm originally from Bangladesh and my wife is from the US. No, you really don't need to know what our parents think of our marriage. Oh, I program for a living. Do you want to know more about functional reactive programming? Well...

This literally went on for half an hour, while our infant daughter (who was suffering from the flu) was clearly in distress. When my wife asked for a bit of privacy to nurse her, she was barked at. The interrogation eventually ended, but only after a condescending speech about how lucky we were to be allowed in.

Someone should tell the UK that not everyone dreams of casino-funded memories of Empire.

Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone

#400

Post by LyndsySimon »

anigbrowl wrote: post #294
shripadk wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

One furriner is very much like another. I've had to explain to people worried about a Sikh temple that Sikhism is its own religion. Lots of people are neither well aware of nor interested in the rest of the world, they only like what they already know.

> One furriner is very much like another.

The irony of your mocking my accent while trying to cast people who share it as bigoted is not lost on me.

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