This is what happens when soccer moms and helicopter dads run your country. Selfishness and paranoia rule the day, all behind the guise of good intentions, fairness, and security.
America knows everything
111–120 of 191 posts
Re: America knows everything
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
And how is CBP supposed to know his entire intention was just to play a couple of non-profit shows? He admits he will be compensated (tips and food) for the shows. Maybe after that he's planning on getting paid shows, or something. As I understand the law, he could have stayed and appealed the decision. Not that they're going to tell you that or help you out - they're allowed to lie to you and so on. Strip searching…
Fair point. We have CBP for many reasons. The mishandling is the primary issue at hand. I wish there were honest statistics available, so that people could know for a fact that yes, there are or are not actually a lot of extreme cases like this.
The only "extreme" part is that we're deciding this guy is "innocent" and not worthy of the level of scrutiny. Being interrogated and searched is very commonplace. So you'd need stats that somehow report how many people they interrogated and searched that they didn't consider to be suspicious. I doubt they'll report a very high number, of course.
Best stat I can think of is "how many strip searches resulted in allowing the person to enter the country", which is also probably fairly low. By that time, they've probably decided to deny you entry.
Neither shows or prevents mistreatment that the CBP deems OK, which seems to be the case here.
Re: America knows everything
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
"I have no idea why anyone should be required to have a special visa to work in the US. Because we are selfish?" Seriously? If the US didn't have immigration requirements, half the world would move there, causing the society and infrastructure to collapse? I can't see how unrestricted immigration benefits the US at all (I'm not a US citizen).
Immigration wasn't restricted until the 20th century (in any meaningful way), and the US didn't seem to suffer too bad.
And I'd wager that the cost of living is higher now, relative to the other countries.
Re: America knows everything
#114While I agree that this person was probably treated very poorly, I also want to point out that they were traveling for work purposes. In the United States, non-US citizens entering the country for work purposes are generally required to get a visa. There are a few (and very few at that) business exceptions to this process, as listed here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html He stated that he w…
I agree this guy screwed up. But the fact that you can't go three hours without seeing an obvious illegal alien in the US makes this whole thing hilarious. It's the Anarcho-Tyranny thing Sam Francis wrote about. Be a middle class, law abiding euro with some undotted i's and get instantly deported. Hop the southern border as an illiterate with criminal convictions and it's "no problemo" as an apparent matter of nation…
I can't recall the last time I saw an "obvious illegal alien". What makes them "obvious"?
Re: America knows everything
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't have knowledge about the US border and visa requirements and procedures. But even if he did made a mistake wouldn't it be easier to inform him before he enters the plane? And avoid interrogating him without letting him know what the problem was? The process he got ranks pretty high on the crazy paranoid side. I'm sure there are ways to solve the security and visa issues in a way that does not leave traumatic…
But even if he did made a mistake wouldn't it be easier to inform him before he enters the plane? Some airports in EU countries (eg Shannon in Ireland) have pre-clearance for passengers to the US at the departure end, ie you go through US passport control first and when you get on the plane it is legally a domestic US flight. This is unusual however, just as Americans typically deal with EU passport control at the EU…
There is a big thing with US travel: ESTA, advanced passenger information, and the airline thing whose name I don't know (when you check in, they already ask nosy questions about your travel and your girlfriend). So they had a lot of opportunities to stop him before he got in the plane without putting up with the burden of a US visa. They chose to let him come knowing they would refuse him.
When you try to go to the US, you have to get in some kind of trap (there are those stupid questions which I guess are a framework to make you a liar to a federal agent if you get caught later), drop all your privacy (that was probably gone anyways with facebook and gmail), and they have ample means to close it on you without being an asshole.
Re: America knows everything
#116Welcome to America, where we read your private mail, track all your movements online, shoot your dogs, abuse you at the borders, put antibiotics in your food, bankrupt you when you get sick, throw you in jail with hardened criminals if you smoke a spliff, and drone-execute you with no warrant if the president doesn't like you. Would you like fries with that?
[deleted]
Re: America knows everything
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I agree on the overreaction, no, it's not just about paying for a work visa. It's determining eligibility and whatnot. He even admits that it's "very difficult" to get such a visa. Certainly you don't want to encourage people to attempt entry illegally (under false premises) with the fallback of paying for the visa. Going through his "personal effects" is one way to determine is someone is lying. Strip search s…
Well, I'm not going to get derailed by the not important conversation that you seem to want to start regarding appropriate work visa policies. Whatever that policy is, it CANNOT include the kind of stupidity described in this persons post. No more intimidation, no more molestation, no more angry, invasive, demeaning, bullying, just plain awful treatment of anyone like this, ever again, for any reason. Frankly we need…
Just so we're clear, you're against strip searching anyone for anything, ever? So, if someone was smuggling in rare species or ivory or other contraband, the CBP should do what exactly?
Re: America knows everything
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd like to see a customer satisfaction survey implemented across the board. It needs to have teeth. All of these problems are the result of giving people responsibility without accountability. As it is now, the only accountability they have is whether or not something 'bad' happens. But the actual chance of something bad happening is so low that it is no more than statistical noise. So no matter what they do, they c…
It can be much more of a cultural issue than an accountability one. Often people behave very ethically without supervision.
Often people behave very ethically without supervision.
Individuals yes, absolutely. Organizations no, never.
Re: America knows everything
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
What the frail are you talking about? Why the hell do we have such ridiculous laws to begin with? What the hell kind of country have we become? It's certainly not the land of the FREE! The terrorists won. We lost.
This has nothing to do with the terrorists winning. The rather draconian immigration law was written in 1996. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_Immigration_Reform_and_...
It's not the law - it's the way somone who broke that law was treated like a suspected drug-dealer. Sure, technically they had the right to deport him. But doing so in this case was heavy handed, and adding strip-searches and refusing to let him contact his girlfriend was purely obnoxious.
Although not directly linked to terrorism, this kind of behaviour is condoned now because the fear of immigrants generated by "terroism".
Re: America knows everything
#120As a Chinese citizen you can come into the US ridiculously pregnant and have your kid in the US on a tourist visa via a flight and never get hassled. You can walk across the southern border and create a human fence around ICE vans and get a slap on the wrist. The problem: This guy doesn't serve a political interest so he gets hassled. Face it, this country is backwards and caters only to the elite.
I'm just a bit confused: How are an expectant Chinese mother and a Mexican migrant worker examples of the elite?
They are not the elite, they cater to the elite and special interests goals. China has 60 per cent of its $3.5tn foreign currency reserves invested in US assets. A housing program that offers green cards to foreigners who buy $500,000+ houses. How about the money going to US universities from 194,000 Chinese students. The $8.2 billion Chinese buyers spent in the 12 months to March 2013 of $70 billion on real estate. China will biggest economy in the world and we (USA) needs access. Migrant workers expand the population, provide cheap labor, and consumption A.K.A. grow the economy. They also vote.