U.S. Border Policy Enforcement Needs Reform
Published by Gail April 15th, 2008 in Expat Life, Politics + Economy, Rants* rant alert *
I have opined time and time again that U.S. border guards (at both airport and land points of entry) are ill-informed, inconsistent, and have far too much discretionary power.
Here’s another example of what I’m talking about:
U.S. border guards bar skilled Canadian from his job - CBC, March 31, 2008
Technician says increased protectionism at U.S. border is unfair
I still get upset when I’m reminded of how much time, money, and sheer energy David and I spent trying to follow the stated policies of U.S. Immigration to the letter in order to get married and be together. We had an immigration attorney working for over a year on our case (who I only finished paying in December 2006; visa application fees and such are nonrefundable) and did everything he instructed us to do to secure my visa — including being forced to live apart during what we learned later was a critical time in David’s health.
When I think of how much of a difference I could have made by just being there for David, getting him to the hospital and taking care of him in July 2005 when his lymphatic system was under attack and his symptoms were intensifying (night sweats, back pain, etc.), I can’t help but get angry at this system that’s supposed to PROTECT its citizens but is in fact turning them and their families into victims of nearsighted bureaucracy gone mad.
In the end it didn’t do us any good whatsoever to follow U.S. Immigration policy. Ultimately, it brought us more harm than good because I wasn’t there for David when the cancer first began its rapid spread. I know of another couple who got married at the same time, an American man and a European woman, who did not follow policy and to my knowledge there was no immigration issue at all. Is it any wonder, then, that people wilfully ignore these policies if enforcement has an equal chance for an unreasonable outcome as it does with a reasonable one? That you can follow all instructions to the letter and STILL get deported or denied entry at the whim of an officer?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to argue with a U.S. border guard at what the law actually states because he doesn’t really know! Even the immigration attorneys can’t guarantee that border guards will grant entry if all paperwork is in order, because federal law protects the guards’ decisions (as arbitrary as they may be) as representatives of the U.S. government. In just five years since it was first established, the Department of Homeland Security has grown to be the third largest executive department of the U.S. government, after the Department of Defense, and Veteran Affairs. These officers have more power than any civilian law-enforcement agency in the nation, so you would EXPECT they would be the most knowledgeable, highly-trained, and the most judicious.
Well, think again. In practice, this could not be further from reality. (Including my last experience, on my way to San Francisco.)
If you cross the border regularly, you might have as strong an opinion about this as I do. I will now go listen to some calm, soothing music to get my heart rate back down again. Reading a story like the one above makes me think of how much it would’ve upset David to know that his own country sent his widow packing… and all in the name of overprotectionist immigration policies and the Patriot Act, an act that he felt strongly should never have been passed in the first place.
Search
Contact
Recent Posts
- Rivoli
- As Day Slips Into Night
- House Of Fielding Reunited
- Waiting Out A Storm
- I-81 North
- The Electric City
- Pennsylvania Turnpike
- Obama For Yo Mama
- one of the oddest washrooms I have used
- @ Helma’s
- Hey PA
- Niagara Falls, ON
- The Next Three Trips
- Royal Wood: Even Better Live!
- The Split Personality Sunset
- Today’s Coaster
- Royal Wood
- Rusty Russkie
- Nowhere Doesn’t Exist
- Cheltenham Badlands, Part 1
Recent Comments
- Azalea Trail Maids 14
Tracy, Gail, Caitlin Miller [...] - As Day Slips Into Night 1
addie - one of the oddest washrooms I have used 2
Peter, addie - Cheltenham Badlands, Part 1 2
Peter, Lana - David's Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" 3
Ron Card, Frank, Karl - @ Helma's 1
Monica - Royal Wood: Even Better Live! 2
Gail, Elizajane - The Next Three Trips 2
Breigh, Fancy - Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall... 3
Marcy the Queen Bee, Gail, Claude - Nowhere Doesn't Exist 1
Lana - Royal Wood 1
Lana - Rusty Russkie 2
Lana, Monica - Today's Coaster 1
Monica - Oh The Stories They Could Tell 3
Lori, Gail, Lori - 6-Year Blogiversary 8
Gail, Nina, Anf [...] - More Morocco 2
Gail, Lana
Calendar
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Mar | May » | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |||
Archives
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
- February 2004
- January 2004
- December 2003
- November 2003
- October 2003
- September 2003
- August 2003
- July 2003
- June 2003
- May 2003
- April 2003
- March 2003
- February 2003
- January 2003
- December 2002
- November 2002
- October 2002
- September 2002
- August 2002
- July 2002
Categories
- Acts of Kindness (27)
- Ancient History (43)
- Art (12)
- Aviation (34)
- Blah Blah Blah (34)
- Books (10)
- Chez Gail (Vancouver) (29)
- Consumer (28)
- Critters + Creatures (176)
- Culture + Society (40)
- David's Writing (61)
- David at 17 (7)
- Expat Life (65)
- Local Colour (23)
- Family (308)
- fave (17)
- Flying (89)
- Food + Drink (119)
- Friends (205)
- gailatlarge (60)
- gailatlarge.com (37)
- House of Fielding (317)
- Engagement/Wedding (37)
- Hugh (73)
- Xena & Beano (52)
- Humour (27)
- Letters to David (21)
- Life Lessons (10)
- Linkage (94)
- Living with Cancer (81)
- Haunted by Cancer (22)
- Loss (70)
- Memes, Polls, Quizzes (9)
- Moblogging (19)
- Music (56)
- Out + About (176)
- Photography (559)
- cameraphone (142)
- film photography (53)
- Flickr (31)
- Flickr Toronto (4)
- Other Photogs (89)
- Vandigicam (20)
- Politics + Economy (21)
- Pop Culture (24)
- AI - Season 4 (12)
- PWP (75)
- Raconteurism (39)
- Randomage (20)
- Rants (38)
- Redux (7)
- Reel + Screen (55)
- Filmmaking (4)
- Religion (6)
- Singleton Life (9)
- Student Life (66)
- Tales of the Absurd (30)
- The Adventures of Kermit (16)
- The Great Outdoors (43)
- Travel (420)
- Unabashed Geekiness (64)
- Urban Life (156)
- Videoclips (179)
- Volunteering/Charity (24)
- Wacky WWW (26)
- Widowhood (19)
- Working Life (72)
- [unfiled] (175)
It is crazy, whenever I travel to the States now I ensure I have email correspondence from whomever we’re visiting, just to minimize the hassles. Last time we were asked if we were doing industrial espionage, and we had been invited by GM.
As a U.S. Citizen, I’m just glad I don’t have to deal with the immigration headaches that you’ve had to deal with on a regular basis trying to get in and out of here. But, if it makes you feel any better, most Americans with half a brain recognize Homeland (In)Security for what it is - window dressing designed to make the masses feel like the government is “doing something.”
For those of us who travel frequently, we know just how ridiculous that statement is; the policies even within the country are applied inconsistently and haphazardly. The staff are underpaid and undertrained. I actually find myself relatively patient with the line staff themselves because I know that it is not they who make the policies, and it is often they who are sympathetic with the stupidity of the policies they are made to enforce (the whole “3 oz liquids and gels” farce that they continue to carry out is one of the worst, and I think most of the screeners hate it as much as travelers).
Traveling with my skydiving gear is another one where I’ve (re)learned the fine art of patience, and I keep my expectations quite low because as specialized equipment they don’t see very often I’m not surprised that I have to educate them on their own policies. So far, honey over vinegar has gotten me out of some jams and even made me some fans/friends.
I administer DHS-mandated procedures for our Canadian transport company. The regulations and rules (C-TPAT, ACE etc.) are the most cumbersome and ill-advised imaginable. As Krisanne said, most are simply an alphabet soup of window dressing to give the average citizen the feeling that there was a response to 9/11.
I have never dealt with a group that took their job as seriously as DHS’ Supply Chain Management Specialists at JFK. Picture Secret Service without the ear pieces….
It’s not that much different getting into Canada. When I married and immigrated from the US to Canada, I waited 7 months after we were married before Canadian immigration would let me come live with my husband. I lived in Chicago and he lived in Vancouver from August to the following April before I was approved. We joked that I should get in a boat and float in rather than wait for endless amounts of required paperwork! Immigration to any country is never easy, that’s for sure.
But even after we got married, I was never treated like a person, only like an illegal alien. I wasn’t allowed to touch our bank accounts ever, before OR after David died. David had to do all the banking, even when he was gravely ill and could barely sign his name on the cheque. I wasn’t allowed to execute his will. Then I got threatened with deportation if I didn’t leave immediately.
Would this happen in every country? What crime did I commit? At the U.S. border, I still get asked about 2004, 2005, and why the visa applications didn’t go through. When I explain, the border officers don’t believe me!
GRRRR! You know my feelings on this.
I have been using my Nexus card lately and it has made the world of difference. I highly recommend getting one.