FYI: This isn't a rant or rave - it's just a little venting about a situation that I ran into a couple of weeks ago crossing into Canada and was hoping someone who is familiar with customs procedures may be able clarify for me. I apologize in advance for being very long-winded but I wanted to make sure that I included all of the pertinent details.
Background:
I own a home in the U.S. (Michigan) and in Canada (Windsor) and travel between the two at least once a week. I've never had any problems crossing the border in either direction and always declare any goods that I'm bringing over. Normally I travel over to Canada via the Detroit-Windsor tunnel and back to the U.S. via the Ambassador Bridge (the tunnel is closer to the house in Michigan and the bridge is closer to the house in Canada). There have been a couple of times where I've declared something and had to pull over to pay taxes and a couple of times where I've been pulled over for a random inspection. In these instances I've had no problems with being pulled over since I recognize that the customs folks are just doing their jobs. As a side note, I have a valid U.S. passport which I use each time I cross the border and have no criminal record or run-in's with the law.
Situation:
A couple of weeks ago I drove from my home in Michigan down to the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Upon arriving at the tunnel I saw that traffic was backed up for quite a ways so I decided to drive the extra distance and cross over the bridge. When I got to the bridge crossing, there was very little traffic and it saved me a lot of time versus waiting to cross via the tunnel. When I reached the Canadian side of the bridge I pulled up to the customs booth and answered the usual questions (i.e. What are you bringing in? Do you have any tobacco or liquor? Etc.) I answered all of the questions truthfully and was then asked how often I cross into Canada. My response was that I usually cross at least once a week since I own a home in Canada as well as the U.S. When the customs agent shut his window I figured that I was going to be selected for a “random” inspection but I wasn’t really concerned. Sure enough when he opened the window again he handed me a yellow secondary screening slip and said that I needed to pull over for inspection. Since I had nothing to hide I didn’t think much about it as I pulled into the secondary screening station.
Upon arriving at the secondary screening area, two customs inspectors came out of the building (I suspect they were notified by the booth) and asked me to step out of the car. I exited the car and then handed the one inspector my yellow secondary screening slip. While the one inspector examined the screening slip, another inspector came out of the building with a rolling-cart/table. As I mentioned earlier, I had gone through secondary screenings before but never had someone bring a cart to my vehicle. Normally the customs inspector would go through everything in the car (luggage, etc.) and check to see if there was any “contraband” that wasn’t declared. In this case, I stood watching as two of the inspectors started pulling things from my car and setting them on the table. Once they everything pulled from the car they proceeded to check the car inside and out and then proceeded to go through all of the items on the table. While this was going on, the inspector who I handed the screening slip to was asking me more questions similar to the ones I had already answered at the booth.
Q: How often did I come to Canada? A: Once a week.
Q: Why was I coming to Canada? A: I own a home in Canada.
Q: Why was I bringing $1000 into Canada (I had a bank envelope with money in my passport valise)? A: I’m depositing it in the bank so I can pay my Canadian taxes.
Q: Have I ever crossed into Canada via Niagra Falls? Port Huron? Washington? A: No – I usually cross via the Detroit-Windsor tunnel but it was backed up so I decided to come across the bridge.
Q: Are you sure? A: Yes I’m positive since I’ve never been to those other border crossings.
Q: Have I ever been pulled over before? A: Yes – I had a couple of random inspections and one time I had to pay taxes/duty on some items that I was bringing in.
Q: How long have you been coming over to Canada on a regular basis? A: About 5 years.
Q: And you’ve only been pulled over a few times? A: Yes – I always declare anything I’m bringing in and don’t have anything to hide.
At this point a
fourth inspector comes out of the building, says something to the one who was doing the questioning, and then I’m told that I’m free to go but I have to go to Immigration and show them my id. I’m thinking to myself – Immigration? Show them my id? Didn’t they already swipe my passport and then check it again during the secondary? I’ve never had to do that before but figure oh well – I need to get going. I should mention at this point that all of the customs people were very professional and very polite so I had no problem with the extra attention.
After going to the Immigration office, showing my id (again) and answering some of the same questions (again), the woman behind the counter stamps my screening slip and says I’m all set to go. Heading back to my vehicle I take a look at the screening slip and notice that the customs agent at the booth wrote “Previous Port Runner” at the bottom. This is where I started to get concerned since I had never had any problems before and never willfully violated the law. When I get back to my vehicle I handed a new customs agent (a different one from those that did the screening) the screening slip and then ask a question as to what they meant by “Previous Port Runner”. The agent replied, “I’m not at liberty to disclose that information”. My response was that usually if someone asks why they’re pulled over don’t the agents tell them? Her response was, “Once you cross the international border you’re not in the U.S. anymore. If you’ve only been pulled over a few times then you should consider yourself lucky”. Lucky? Why should I consider myself “lucky” if all I’m doing is following the rules. Since I didn’t want to get into a pissing match I just shook my head, got into my car and proceeded on my way.
The more I thought about the situation and the comment at the bottom of the screening slip the more concerned I became. Was I now flagged for something that I didn’t do? Was I going to be subjected to searches every time I crossed the border? Was I going to be banned from coming into Canada and run the risk of losing my house? The next day I went to the main customs office in downtown Windsor and spoke to the people there to see if they could tell me 1) What a “Previous Port Runner” was and 2) Was there anything in the system that “flagged” me and would prevent me from entering Canada? After consulting with a supervisor, the customs agent I spoke with came back and told me that there was nothing on my record other than I came over to Canada often. In regards to why the customs agent at the bridge wouldn’t tell me what “Previous Port Runner” meant he just rolled his eyes and said that there was no reason that she couldn’t have told me what it meant. When I inquired as to why the booth agent would have written that at the bottom of the screening slip the response I received was that it may have been a slip that had been started for someone else and that the booth agent just wrote my license plate number on it. While this last response didn’t give me a warm and fuzzy feeling at least I had some reassurance that I wasn’t mistakenly flagged in the system.
Summary:
While I’m used to having to go through customs and sometimes being sent to a secondary screening, this experience has caused me to loose some faith in the system. It’s a little disconcerting to be treated as though you’ve done something wrong and then not given an explanation of what you’ve supposedly done.
Observations:
- With the exception of one person I think the way the Canadian customs agents handled themselves in this situation was very professional. All of the agents I spoke with (again with the one exception) were polite. I’ve found this to be the general rule with both the Canadian customs at the Detroit-Windsor tunnel and the U.S. customs at the Ambassador Bridge. As with any profession there are going to be those that give the rest a bad name.
- It’s disconcerting that people can be presumed guilty of something and then be put in the position of proving their innocence. After finding out what “Previous Port Runner” meant, I was a little angry at having being classified as such when I pride myself on being a law-abiding citizen. For those that don’t know, a “Previous Port Runner” is someone who was asked to pull over at customs but decided to skip the secondary screening. By writing this at the bottom of the secondary screening slip the customs agent at the booth implied that I was someone who had done this before and thus was entitled to extra special attention. I can guarantee that I’ve never skipped out on a secondary screening and have always pulled over when directed.
Question(s):
- I can understand that under some dictatorships that people don’t have the right to question why they’re being detained but I was under the impression that here in North America, people have the right to ask why they’re being pulled over. I believe that is true in the U.S. but what about in Canada? What about at border crossings in general? Do people who get stopped by any customs agents in the U.S. or Canada have the right to know why they’re being stopped?
- I’m fortunate in that I was able to discover that I’m not flagged in the Canadian system as not being able to enter the country. In the event that someone is incorrectly flagged as being an “undesirable” and refused entry, what recourse would they have? In my case, my screening slip incorrectly stated that I had previously skipped out on a secondary screening. What if the customs agent “accidentally” used a slip that had “Drug Runner” or “Rapist” or “Drunk Driver” written on the bottom? Is there any recourse that people have to clear their name if they are falsely accused of something? Again, I’m fortunate in that my name is supposedly “clear” in the Canadian system but I find it unfortunate that people are sometimes presumed guilty until they prove themselves innocent.
Sorry for the standing so long on the soapbox. Thanks for letting me vent and if anyone has answers to my two questions I’d appreciate the feedback.