Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ex-Mozilla CTO: I was grilled for three hours at US airport by border cops

theregister.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

281–290 of 378 posts

Re: Ex-Mozilla CTO: I was grilled for three hours at US airport by border cops

#281

Post by justboxing »

mikeash wrote: post #14

Quick reminder: US citizens have an absolute right to reenter the country. Customs can temporarily detain you, but they cannot refuse entry. Any threat, whether implied or stated, that they will hold you until you unlock your device is not real. They can hold your stuff indefinitely, so be prepared to lose it if you go this route, but never unlock your device based on the idea that it’s the only way to go free. Non-c…

> Customs can temporarily detain you, but they cannot refuse entry

Legal / Official Source please.

Re: Ex-Mozilla CTO: I was grilled for three hours at US airport by border cops

#282

Post by philsnow »

mikepurvis wrote: post #78
a012 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or simply just leave yours at home, buy a burner phone on arrival.

There's a cost to doing that. I guess it depends just how badly you need to travel to the US, but as a Canadian citizen, I see no reason to endanger myself or my family by traveling there at the current time. Walt Disney World will still be there in 2021.

> Walt Disney World will still be there in 2021

Border policy won't change by 2021 either, at least not for the better.

Re: Ex-Mozilla CTO: I was grilled for three hours at US airport by border cops

#283

Post by sneak »

mikeash wrote: post #14

Quick reminder: US citizens have an absolute right to reenter the country. Customs can temporarily detain you, but they cannot refuse entry. Any threat, whether implied or stated, that they will hold you until you unlock your device is not real. They can hold your stuff indefinitely, so be prepared to lose it if you go this route, but never unlock your device based on the idea that it’s the only way to go free. Non-c…

Oh, and for non-citizens: I entered the US with a partner that was canadian, we both refused to unlock our phones. She was denied entry, but they strip searched and physically groped both of our genitals before being released. Simply not wanting to enter the US was insufficient; the only way we could leave the building was by letting the cops handle our genitals.

They will use every option available to them to punish you for disobeying their commands to unlock, even if you are not legally obligated to do so.

Re: Ex-Mozilla CTO: I was grilled for three hours at US airport by border cops

#284

Post by cmurf »

rchaud wrote: post #255
CalChris wrote: post #130

> Gal said the agents did take away his Global Entry pass, which allows express entry through customs, as punishment for not complying with their demands. I wonder about the legality of the CBP punitively confiscating his Global Entry pass.

In addition to that, I also wonder what punishments they can mete out to people who happen to not be high-level Apple employees with a network of powerful people who can advocate on his behalf.

Or more likely, the success rate of threats. I suspect it's high.

Re: Ex-Mozilla CTO: I was grilled for three hours at US airport by border cops

#286

Post by jliptzin »

leesalminen wrote: post #167
musha68k wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quick reminder: Non US citizens only go to conferences outside the US. There is no excuse we should put up with this. Canada and EU are much better locations for this reason alone.

In the past several years, I’ve entered 6 countries as a US citizen. Only Canada has demanded access to my phone.

I was asked to unlock my phone trying to get to Canada as a US citizen too.

Re: Ex-Mozilla CTO: I was grilled for three hours at US airport by border cops

#287

Post by Zak »

jandrese wrote: post #259
Zak wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Reasonable suspicion" is a legal term. In this context, a CBP officer would need to have evidence that would lead a reasonable person to believe the item to be searched is illegal to bring into the country, or contains something that is illegal to bring into the country. A hunch is not sufficient; it requires objective evidence. Reasonable suspicion is not required for every search at a border crossing, and the Fede…

That only applies if the case goes to trial though. Border guards frequently assume that they have near unlimited power regardless of what the law says.

The fundamental problem is that there are rarely consequences for border guards exceeding or misusing their power. The incentives support them trying to exceed legal limits on their authority.

Re: Ex-Mozilla CTO: I was grilled for three hours at US airport by border cops

#288

Post by mav3rick »

geofft wrote: post #262
xeeeeeeeeeeenu wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you are saying that USA should have started WW3 immediately after WW2?

Oh, I'm not taking issue with the US's behavior. I'm just taking issue with people who use it to argue that the US is the bestest country evar. If it really were, it would have been able to defeat the USSR soundly with its superior military technology. It's perfectly fine to admit the US is a mediocre large country, absolutely worth living in, but not some singular shining glory. It's perfectly fine to admit the US i…

Nowhere in my points did I say it's the best country. I just invalidated two arguments you used.

Re: Ex-Mozilla CTO: I was grilled for three hours at US airport by border cops

#289

Post by tango12 »

Lets say he was flagged because of being vocal against the current administration; how do you think the incentive structure works for something like this to be executed? The president says I don’t like my critics. The person heading the CBP thinks they can get promoted if they show results on harassing critics. So they push that down as a goal...and somewhere a few weeks later agents on the ground actually take this up as a task to execute. Is that a realistic understanding?

Re: Ex-Mozilla CTO: I was grilled for three hours at US airport by border cops

#290

Post by fernandotakai »

altmind wrote: post #263
Dangeranger wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is not. Customs and Border Patrol operate under a special set of circumstances within ports of entry. You do not have the right to have an attorney present during the interrogation, you can have your personal belongings confiscated, you can be held without charge for up to four hours for any "reasonable" suspicion. These same rules apply within one hundred miles of the United States border. So if you live near…

> [100-mile] border zone is home to 65.3 percent of the entire U.S. population, and around 75 percent of the U.S. Hispanic population

this ACLU article shows exactly this https://www.aclu.org/other/constitution-100-mile-border-zone
Post reply on HN