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Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

nytimes.com

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Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#241

Post by edblarney »

schoen wrote: post #207
edblarney wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's sad. Border staff often have a set of rules they have to follow, a lot of it is to ward off attempts at illegal migration. Getting into America or Canada via that border is rather common. When I was at the Canadian border once, a woman from Jamaica, with a carload of luggage was denied entry essentially on the same basis - no proof of return travel, reservations etc. - they essentially suspected she was trying…

I didn't get a good feeling from your comment's contrast between "a woman from Jamaica" and "normal folks". Surely being from Jamaica is a thing that normal folks do, if that's where they're from.

A) At the Canadian / American physical border crossing, you get mostly Canadians and Americans, not other nationalities.

B) A lone Jamaican, with a car full of luggage

C) No travel reservations

D) Jamaica is a poor country, likely higher rates of immigration issues.

These are red flags.

The 'border game' is a game of probabilities.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#242

Post by hysan »

Having recently returned to the US after moving abroad 5 years ago, I was pretty shocked by how much more security there was in the airports. Not only that, the manner and air of the various security workers made it feel like everyone was a terrorist threat. I felt guilty when being checked even though I had nothing to be guilty of. Has the American populace really become used to this level of treatment like a frog slowly being boiled alive?

Compare this to the many countries I visited on vacation and while some, for example China, have similarly strict and high levels of security, none of them made me feel like I was some sort of terrorist. It makes me wonder what sort of training the security staff goes through. Are they taught to treat people like this? Or are people skills simply not a requirement for a job that requires talking to people all day?

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#243

Post by kakashi19 »

When you're entering the U.S. or Canada, you surrender your rights by default. The border agents can search all your belongings, including any of your digital device. At the border, less is more; bring less, tell less. Once they start digging, be prepared to answer a lot of questions.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#244

Post by b9 »

digler999 wrote: post #125
delackner wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious, do you think anything about your appearance or car made them profile you specifically? I crossed over a few years ago at Niagara falls and found the border agents extremely courteous and friendly, probably more so than any other crossing I've made in the world. I mention it not as anecdata, but just to wonder if even the same border agent might treat someone very negatively today (change in policy over t…

I'm all for being friendly, but sometimes being real friendly is also a sign that they're up to something. I remember reading an article about a Geo Cacher who got stopped by the Secret Service for circling around the White House in a car too many times. he said the guys on bikes were real nice and friendly , talked all about him and his geocaching....until the marked car of thugs showed up and detained him. Also, if…

If judges have a problem with sugar or after a football game expect the border guards to have the same problem.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#245

Post by koenigdavidmj »

michaelhoffman wrote: post #163
goodcanadian wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is one exception. US immigration runs "preclearance" facilities at major Canadian airports (and a handful of other places). Here, you clear US customs and immigration before you ever board your flight. Because these facilities are still on Canadian soil, you are free to turn around and walk away at any time; they cannot detain you as they can at land borders or US airports.

Under the proposed Preclearance Bill (Bill C-23), if you are legally detained by a U.S. preclearance officer you do not have the right to withdraw anymore. http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Lan...

So Canada is willingly becoming a literal American colony?

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#246

Post by wallace_f »

lancewiggs wrote: post #223
wallace_f wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Laws like this are silly, horrible, and have no place in a democracy. Even disgusting speech ought to be defended. I agree. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge I would guess these cases would not hold up to the scrutiny of the supreme court, if they were ever brought there. As a non legal expert, my reading has been that the Supreme Court usually has, at least in the past, set a very high bar in ruling against…

To be clear: Auckland has a _legal_ prostitution industry, as does the rest of NZ. The censorship board can indeed ban certain media, but it's never really an issue here.

Yea, I know, I think it's crazy.

> it's never really an issue here.

Fair enough, but I think that's an opinion we just disagree on.

Someone posted under this topic the idea that the point of these violations of civil liberties, even if "they aren't really an issue," is exactly that: to acclimate us to think, "it's not really an issue."

Freedom of expression is something I believe we are very lucky to have, people have fought and died for much lesser freedoms. Banning books is a threatening move by government and something that should happen only in utterly extreme circumstances, if at all. In this case, Auckland has not just a legal, but a visible, obvious prostitution market. I think the age of consent there is even 16(?) yet that same teenager couldn't even buy this book on the topic of sex. It's very much just kind of ridiculous.

The country also spends just about the most in the world on its War on Drugs (per capita), so maybe it's no wonder the police didn't have the time when one friendly traveller at a hostel got his orbital bone broken by some local thugs, or when at another hostel someone had their backpack stolen.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#247

Post by dawnerd »

YZF wrote: post #160
exolymph wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I asked what would happen if I didn't turn the password over and just went back home to the US, they told me they'd seize the device and put me in prison until they break into it. I guess it depends on how much you care about your personal info or how sensitive your data is, but I wouldn't budge based on this. I'd say, "Okay, I want to talk to the American embassy," then wait it out. Edit: To be clear, this would b…

I think the correct legal approach there is to say that you are withdrawing your application to enter Canada. They're supposed to let you go back to the US at this point. I am not a lawyer.

I believe they still track this with your fingerprints so next time you try to enter you'll be asked about it. Best to be nice to the agents even if they're not being nice back. People that create a scene are the ones that end up basically banned for life.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#248

Post by dawnerd »

patmcc wrote: post #164
jliptzin wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, from now on I will back up my phone to the cloud, wipe it before going over a border, then reinstalling after. It's the only sane thing to do.

Here's the thing though; you can do that, and it'll protect your data, but any nation can still prevent your entry for exactly that reason. "Oh, you brought an empty phone? Give me access to your cloud account. No? Ok, you're never entering our country. Bye."

Obviously you'd seed it with some fake data...

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#249

Post by dawnerd »

makecheck wrote: post #70
nostromo wrote: post #3

I'm so embarrassed how America treats people entering the U.S. It's the first experience foreigners have in our country, and we make it one of the worst experiences in the developed world. Industries that benefit from tourism should lobby the Federal Government to improve the travel experience to, from, and within the US. I personally would fly at least a few more times a year if the TSA/CBP process treated people wi…

I recently was in the Houston airport and encountered a surprisingly tiny security checkpoint with an insane number of TSA officers. There were so few passengers, it felt like it was almost 2:1 passengers to officers. And it was the slowest, rudest, stupidest travel experience yet. How can so many employees be so incredibly inefficient!? For some, it was pretty obvious: they were just standing around doing literally…

I've found MCO to be one of the worst run TSA checkpoints. Agents constantly yelling instructions that contradict what their signage says. Example: guy yells to put shoes directly on the conveyor and not in a bin. Sign right next to him says put in a bin... and they wonder why people get frustrated with them.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#250

Post by bigbugbag »

wheelerwj wrote: post #191
toomuchtodo wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't upvote this enough. I'm a law abiding citizen, but I still wipe my phone and restore from iCloud after I've made my way through customs or border control.

if its in icloud, they don't need to take your phone...

I don't think border agents take phones because they need to.
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