seawolf

Based on what OP described, CBP didn't do anything outside of their search; didn't mention they will miss their flight if they don't cooperate.

The fear OP experienced was self generated.

seawolf

The reason they did that is if they did find you were carrying half a million dollars, it will stand up in court that a.) they gave you an opportunity to declare and b.) there is written proof of that declaration.

Were you upset that they "forced" you to make a declaration of that you were picked for the search?

RTW1

Do you really fear your government because they CAN ask you if you have a lot of currency on you, and check to make sure that your answer is true when you are at the airport. You won't be harmed, just inconvenienced for about 5 minutes.

Or is it just a hollow statement you are making? It's a law enforcement agency with a specific task, nothing more.

Often1

While the US does not have outbound Customs or immigration formalities, it has the right to impose them and does so on a random basis (or not so random). Primary searches are for cash and drugs.

CBP on the jetway is pretty common and it can occur for random reasons or because CBP has an actual specific concern.

The questioning and search can be just as intrusive as a search and questioning inbound to the US.

Whether OP was selected for inappropriate reasons or not, is something nobody here can determine.

Xyzzy

The limit is $10000 ... and I don't think it's per group, it's per persn.

RTW1

Nope... per group/family. They want to avoid that if you travel with a large family/group you divide your money among it's members. But it's nothing more than a declaration what you are traveling with.
As pointed out before, they simply want you to declare what you have so if you they find more you will have made a false declaration.

Xyzzy

Ww - I never knew it was per group but the regulations clearly state this:Yes - clearly.

GUWonder

That is not how it goes, even if that is how you want it to seem or see it. But these dragnets that use racist profiling do involve discrimination.

GUWonder

It's per individual, household or any other group -- depends on how CBP wants to have it on such matters. They can claim unlawful structuring too.

Often1

There is nothing unlawful about exporting currency. You must simply declare $10K+. The crime is failing to declare it (unless, of course, there is some other crime involved as well).

seawolf

Nothing in OPs account suggest that is the case.

RTW1

And a dragnet at the airport targeting Asians on a flight to Korea....

Loren Pechtel

Exactly. They're trying to leave no doubt that a crime was committed.

Loren Pechtel

I never realized this, either--I thought it was per person.

GUWonder

The dragnet targeting Asians on an Asian-heavy flight doesn't mean all the Asians on it will be hit by the racist profiling in the same way, if at all. The racist profiling advocates don't have sufficient time and other resources to check in the same way each and every subject who meets a perceived ethnic classification; and so they send all the people through the dragnet but choose to hit a small subset of the dragnet subjects fulfilling the racist profiling criteria and then subject them to more intensive screening and searches while trying to make an example of those whom they subjected to these racist profiling-based searches.

Actually, the OP's account suggests it is the case.

The flights to, and traffic for, mainland Asia (mainly PRC, South Korea and India) have been the primary targets of the racist profiling CBP hunt for non-drugs-related undeclared, cash (or certain other financial instruments) above $10k when there is no identified individual targeted AND found in violation of the declaration requirment for the targeted flights.