myfrogger

This topic came up recently and I didn't know the answer so I thought I would post it here. Upon returning to the states, a US Citizen was detained at Immigration (not customs) by the Dept of Homeland Security/Immigration Services because a red flag somehow popped up due to a current Order of Protection on the computer when the passport was scanned. This resulted an escort to a secondary office where a number of questions were asked concerning the purpose of the recent trip out of the country, who the pax was traveling with, where the pax lived and worked, and questions about if the pax had a criminal record. I was told an FBI report was pulled (or at least something was printed off that had the words FBI at the top).

What seemed strange to me was that this person was finally admitted into the country, proceeded to go through customs with zero problem. The person was never searched or even questioned about the contents of the luggage.

--So all that brought up the discussion...isn't the job of Immigration simply to determine if that pax has the legal right/ability to enter the country??

--Can a US Citizen be denied entry back into the USA for any reason?

--Wouldn't it be Customs that would be concerned with a person's criminal record and the no contact order? And that might likely result in a search...idk.

THOUGHTS??

Kiwi Flyer

Why would you assume there is a need to search bags? Customs issues are completely separate from immigration ones.

König

I believe it should be, and in most other countries it is, but sadly the DHS thinks otherwise.

No.

Customs is only concerned with what stuff you are bringing into the country.

jiejie

No, it would be Immigration not Customs. Perhaps:

--They suspected his US passport was fake and he was not automatically entitled to enter the US. (doesn't sound like this was the case though);
or more likely:
--He had some kind of outstanding US federal or Interpol flag on him, which would show up in Immigration's computers when they checked his passport. Since he apparently was let go, it must not have been an outright arrest warrant pending. Since he didn't get the once-over from Customs, it must not have been any kind of contraband/smuggling type issue, or the else the authorities covered this in his "private sessions" with the Feds.

myfrogger

I am just trying to come up on reasons/ideas why any US Citizen would need secondary screening by the DHS.

I came to the conclusion that a person with a criminal record is possibly more likely to be carrying contraband than one without...but I see that as a Customs issue (as mentioned) and not as an Immigration issue.

ESpen36

Nope. They also can run your name through the computer to search for any outstanding warrants. If they find you in violation of the law or that you have outstanding warrants, they can arrest you

No. But, again, if they find you in violation of laws or that you have outstanding warrants, they can arrest (or at least detain until the jurisdiction that issued the warrant decides whether it would be worth it to arrange extradition).

GoingAway

I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't pull people out occasionally because they've been travelling to countries that are "flagged" as unfriendly or to areas with issues. As noted above, you'd be let into the country but if there is an issue warranting arrest, it might be in handcuffs

tev9999

Probably has a lot to do with the setup of immigration and customs. EVERYONE must go through immigration where your passport is scanned and the computer shows whatever information it knows about you. That would be the most logical time to pull someone for a warrant or other red flag. Customs is usually a sampling unless a dog or something else grabs their attention. Most people just get waived through customs.

They can't deny a US citizen entry, but they can arrest you in the process of allowing you entry if there is a warrant.

FlyingUnderTheRadar

Where was the person coming from. Single male passenger going to SE Asia many times can be a flag.

myfrogger

Single male traveling back from Central America.

Deeg

You have to remember that Customs and Immigration were merged back in 2003. It is one agency and the employees (CBP Officers) can be doing Customs work one hour and Immigration work the next. So you really can't separate them anymore in the US.

Ari

Sure you can; the issue is at what point in the process the flag and secondary came up, not the agency that did it.

Had it been a red flag having to do with customs issues (what one is carrying), his stuff more likely than not would have been searched. If it is an immigration issue (who one is), then they are going to interview the person. Since it is the latter and not the former that was involved in this situation, it was an immigration issue, not a customs issue. That the agency is the same doesn't matter as far is this immigration vs. customs issue analysis is concerned..

KTW

They are never going to know of a criminal record unless extra checks are made. That is not automatic info they have in front of them.

Deeg

But it's now one continuous process. Before, the primary inspector (the one in the booth) was primarily concerned about immigration issues. Now that officer is responsible for both. It's not immigration first and customs second like it used to be. Both are done simultaneously.

Sure it does. Prior to the merger, it would not have been considered an immigration issue because the person was a US citizen. INS didn't mess with US citizens. The more logical division you mentioned (what one has vs. who one is) was only made possible by the agencies merging together and joining authorities.

The question I answered was:

Prior to March 2003, the answer to that would be yes. Since then (the creation date of DHS), the answer is no, as I explained.

star_world

What are you basing this on? If this were true, why is there still a customs checkpoint that you have to pass through after immigration? How is the immigration officer (first checkpoint) in a position to check your bags for customs violations when you haven't picked them up yet?

Certainly at the first checkpoint they can make an indication on your customs form to ensure you get picked up at the customs checkpoint, but "both done simultaneously"? I definitely doubt that one...