FlyerTalk Forums - Secondary CBP inspections

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- - Secondary CBP inspections (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/practical-travel-safety-security-issues/1764200-secondary-cbp-inspections.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandicoot (Post 34783752)

Indeed. Perhaps just being "out of the ordinary" compared to other passengers does the trick. I've been pulled into secondary inspection for apparently no other "risk" factor than that I made the mistake of stopping and waiting near the exit from the customs area to text my colleague to see if they had deplaned and collected their bags yet. I was the only one picked out of many dozens of other passengers walking out. The whole secondary inspection area (at BOS) looked deserted at the time and the couple of officers hanging out there seemed truly bored out of their minds. After a minute or two of looking in my bag they told me to carry on. It was a very lackadaisical inspection, not sure they would have found anything even if I had some contraband as they didn't even really poke into my suitcase much or ask many questions.

Anyway, lesson learned, I don't stop or slow down in any of these intermediate areas of secure spaces in airports any more, just go with the flow of other passengers and try not stick out.

Slowing down as you approach the exit is suspicious, it's what drug smugglers do.

Walking overly quickly through the exit is suspicious, it's what drug smugglers do.

Consistently Pulled into Questioning upon Re-entering US

Please feel free to move this if there is already a thread it fits into.

I have a friend who had his global entry revoked. No idea why - he just received an email a few months ago that he "didn't fit the criteria" or something extremely vague and general, despite having it for a few years and nothing changed.

His last few times flying back to the US, he has gone through the normal line or mobile passport, and has then been pulled into the secondary questioning room. They ask him the same questions over and over and then they release him after about 20 mins. FWIW all three times have been at JFK.

He reached out to me because I work in travel and asked who he can speak to about this. He tried calling CBP to find out why all of this is happening, but I guess they couldn't/wouldn't help. I have no idea who else he can try...? It's not the end of the world, but going from breezing through immigration with global entry to being pulled aside and questioned for 20+ mins after waiting in the general line every time would definitely bother me as well.

Any ideas?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pstm91 (Post 35090056)

Please feel free to move this if there is already a thread it fits into.

I merged your post into the relevant thread.

You may also want to check the Global Entry Revocations [merged threads].

TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator

Quote:

Originally Posted by pstm91 (Post 35090056)

Roughly how old is he, what's his ethnicity, what does he do for a living, and where does he travel to/from and why?

He can send a FOIA request to CBP for all records of his entries to the USA, and those records may contain notes of his secondary inspections which give a hint as to why the CBP officers are interested in him.

If he's American he can also simply refuse to answer the questions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPN Lifer (Post 36257791)

Quote:
Having established the availability of judicial review, we turn to the standard the district court should apply on remand. For this standard, we look to § 706 of the APA, under which we assess whether the revocation of an individual’s SENTRI membership was “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law,” or in violation of a statutory, procedural, or constitutional requirement. 5 U.S.C. § 706(2). In making this determination, the district court should consider whether CBP failed to consider the criteria in 8 C.F.R. § 235.7(a)(4)(x) when it determined Jajati was ineligible to participate in SENTRI. See Perez Perez, 943 F.3d at 864. The district court should also assess whether CBP abused its discretion, or acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner, when it interpreted and applied those criteria to Jajati in light of the overarching objectives of the program: to facilitate border crossing for low-risk border crossers, 8 C.F.R. § 235.7(a)(1)(i), and to ensure the program “includes as many participants as practicable by . . . providing applicants with clear and consistent eligibility guidelines,” 8 U.S.C. § 1365b(k)(3)(E). See Newman, 223 F.3d at 943.

Moreover, the district court should review CBP’s factual findings under the “substantial evidence” standard.

Jajati v. U.S. Customs & Border Prot., No. 22-56015, Slip Op. at 29, ___ F.4th ___ (9th Cir. May 22, 2024).

I had my GE revoked due to my bad judgement past December (2023) for not declaring gold Rolex (FYI - if you see Gold Rolex buy it as duty was insanely minimal due to gold content / doesn't apply to stainless steel) .

But lately I get called into secondary each time I come back to the US and it’s just annoying especially after a long flight and family to go through the secondary. Last time, I was by myself and the CBP officer opened Zantac pill box (smallest bottle) to check for who know what (not sure what can fit in a tiny bottle). First asked me to empty my pockets, checked wallet, handbag, etc. Then suitcase and went through each item.
One CBP officer told me that it stops eventually and told me ask the other officer whether he can see the date in the system. Is there way I can ask a lawyer to get some clarity? Do you know any solid law firm who deals with CBP secondary inspections?
Thanks,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amil (Post 35948253)

this might sound like bad advice :but if you travel as much as I did during my one year in secondary make sure to know all your rights and dont give them any info they dont need. it got to a point where I refused to put my bags up and told them they could lift it because my back hurt. they just told me to leave without an inspection. the more arrogant and cocky I got the more they just wanted to get rid of me. there was one time I refused to leave because earlier I had to pee and they demanded to watch me pee and I demanded to make a report of harassment they refused and tried to get me to leave.

edit: for the record the first few times I played nice and answered every question but they would just act more mean to me after a awhile if they would ask me a question ive already answered in the past I refused to answer it and told them its been asked and answered and if he was too lazy to read the screen then its not my problem (again this is bad advice but it worked well for me lol)

Can you please provide me an summary of all the rights during secondary? I have a shoulder issue and lifting heavy bags is a pain for me. I have been nice and the nicer I am the [ruder] they are.

F1Champ: there is no simple, easy, "summary" of rights for persons at US borders. Rights at border inspection depend upon the specific circumstances of the inspection (whether the person is a US citizen, legal permanent resident or a non-US national) and why the person is being subjected to secondary inspection (e.g. for determining admissibility/immigration or for customs inspection, or both). Regardless, about the only well-settled law regarding border inspections is that a person at the border has much less rights than at non-border-related inspections.

The following link gives a good broad overview of rights at the border: Know Your Rights | Enforcement at the Airport | ACLU , this Q/A at the bottom of the page might be of particular interest to you:

What do I do if I am questioned by law enforcement officers every time I travel by air and I believe I am on a “no-fly” or other “national security” list?

If you believe you are mistakenly on a list, you should contact the TSA and file an inquiry using the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program. More information is available here. If you think there may be some reason for why you have been placed on a list, you should seek the advice of an attorney.
Good Luck!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Section 107 (Post 36430834)

f1champ is not on a national security list and a redress number is not going to help him. He's being subjected to repeated secondary inspections for getting caught after having failed to declare a $40K Rolex watch just as I had predicted.

The details are in the GE revocations thread in the Trusted Travelers forum. Sorry, I'm on my phone and it's not easy to post a link.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWA884 (Post 36430964)

here is the relevant link:

Global Entry Revocations [merged threads] - FlyerTalk Forums

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWA884 (Post 36430964)

yes you were correct on prediction. But how long generally does this secondary inspection last?

Quote:

Originally Posted by f1champ (Post 36433080)

yes you were correct on prediction. But how long generally does this secondary inspection last?

CBP doesn't publicize this and it may depend on what transpires during each inspection, as to whether the red flagging period is shortened or lengthened.

Quote:

Originally Posted by f1champ (Post 36426729)

the CBP officer opened Zantac pill box (smallest bottle) to check for who know what (not sure what can fit in a tiny bottle).

I think it's standard practice to go through pill bottles. It's an obvious place to stash pills you shouldn't be bringing in (ecstasy, opioids, etc.) or things like loose diamonds. I once had a secondary CBP inspection where they went through my carryon pill bottle, which contained a prescription I was taking at the time, and also a few pills of Tylenol, Advil, Sudafed, Immodium.... the kind of OTC meds that are handy to have when traveling. The agent wanted to know what each one was, and admonished me for not having them all in their original packaging.