buylowsellhigh

I'm paranoid now, for them to copy electronic information from a phone is seems more intrusive than getting your house searched.

I'll probably get shot for creating this new thread but since I've earned myself a position on the SSSS watchlist, might as well prepare for the worst...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/check...-thru-cbp.html

GUWonder

Indeed, but since at least the Clinton-Gore years, the FBI/DOJ-targeted US government scientists hit by CI have tended to be ethnic Asian US scientists more frequently than European-American US government scientists. How much of that has to do with some Americans being perceived as less American than other Americans is anyone's guess, but I have little doubt that there is also an element of that in what goes on. But the US STEM sector has more Asians in it than the Asian percentage of the general population would otherwise indicate.

The French government, for example, continues to be in the market in much the same way as say the Chinese government, Israeli government, Russian government, Indian government and various others.

It's just smart habit to keep to a minimum the amount of info stored electronically that may be accessed under pretense of a border or other search when traveling.

FliesWay2Much

Probably because this is no longer newsworthy?

FliesWay2Much

I leave my personal iPhone at home and bring an unlocked GSM flip phone. I use a local prepaid SIM card for calling home. Like the NASA guy, I also travel with USG-supplied IT equipment. Everything except the operating system and Microsoft Office is in our encrypted cloud. I asked the question of our CIO the other day and they told us to not divulge passwords to our government IT. Instead, we were told to call the general counsel's office from the airport and seek advice.

FliesWay2Much

It turns out that we have no written policy. The CIO reminded me that we aren't supposed to store anything on our travel laptops -- everything goes on the cloud. (DUH!)

He did have a problem with divulging a password for a government laptop and recommended that we inform the customs guy that we were not authorized by our CIO to divulge our passwords. The bottom line was that he recommended that we call the Office of General Counsel if CBP ever wants to "detain" or "seize" our government-owned IT equipment. My GC friend told me to expect to be harassed and pressured into divulging the passwords. He also gave me his cell phone number.

Maxwell Smart

Thanks. Am waiting to hear back from our OCIO. I, too, suspect there's no formal policy in place.

PlatinumScum

He's an idiot if he thinks you would be allowed to make a phone call in these circumstances.

Yoshi212

If a US citizen is sent to secondary he/she does have the right to counsel but not during preliminary questioning. When you're given this access is of course dependent upon the officer as you're often put in a room for a long time first. Calling a boss may not qualify but calling counsel or that of your organization is reasonable & legal to request as per CBP & ACLU paperwork I have seen.

Post 9/11 but before CBP was officially created I got stopped coming back into the US at Niagara Falls. I tried to remain patient but after ~4 hours of interrogation I lost my cool and was given access to a phone. The head of immigration services was not happy with his people when we met.

FliesWay2Much

I beg to differ. I've known this guy for 20 years. He doesn't throw around bad advice. He said that you may have to wait a while but, eventually, they will blink. There's no connecting flight involved so they couldn't hold that over our heads.

FlyingHoustonian

He looks fairly white to me, a smart Johnny Depp? ;-) though I read in the Post he is of south Asian origin at least partly. Either way, knowing many of the CBP at IAH due to my travels and one of company's contracting with them, most are not "white". This smacks more of USG dragnetting as others mentioned above; likely to QC device usage, contacts, or possible leaks.

nrgiii

Are you absolutely sure that is correct? I was once told by CBP that I had not yet been admitted to the U.S. and therefore had no such right until admission was granted. As a U.S. citizen, I understand that admission must eventually be granted, but apparently that does not begin when you land at the airport.

Yoshi212

I find that is the game they play. From my own experience and from those I have heard or read about. The rules are left ambiguous and training, maybe purposely, flawed into a loop. CBP has been sued and challenged by court order because of this. It does seem to vary if you're a US Citizen or not and where in the procedure you're at. Once you're past the initial CBP immigration officer into secondary inspection you're now in the custody of CBP for investigation and you have rights as a citizen. Same stands at CBP Customs. You do have rights as a citizen but they will lie, cheat & steal from you if you let them.

From ACLU 2016: Q: If I am selected for a longer interview when I am
coming into the United States, what can I do?
A: If you are a U.S. citizen, you have the right to have an attorney
present for any questioning. If you are a non-citizen, you
generally do not have the right to an attorney when you have
arrived at an airport or another port of entry and an immigration
officer is inspecting you to decide whether or not you will
be admitted. However, you do have the right to an attorney if
the questions relate to anything other than your immigration
status. You can ask an officer if he or she will allow you to.

s0ssos

There are some dark-skinned people who aren't black. What's the logic behind your statement? If there is discrimination against some black people, but not all black people, that must mean they aren't discriminating at all against black people.

s0ssos

I must have missed it when Trump legalized discrimination by race via executive order.

Loren Pechtel

The point is they aren't going to apply this level of scrutiny to one person and only white-level scrutiny to another unless there's some reason other than race involved.

(And the guy is all that dark skinned anyway.)