Harsh welcome at Detroit border

**Carey** · March-29-10, 01:59 PM

Returning by bridge from Toronto with a friend Sunday at 9 p.m., I was quizzed in depth by the uniformed guy in the booth, then told it was my "lucky day" -- I had been randomly selected for a secondary inspection.
I don't resent being pulled over. That happens, even if you are a law-abiding citizen in your late 50s with no criminal record, no terrorist leanings and no contraband of any sort. We even declared the chocolate Easter bunnies we had bought on W. Queen Street.
What was bothersome was the Third-World paramilitary vibe: The guns. The barked orders. The funky office. The overweight guy behind the counter telling you which way to look while you stood there, awaiting processing.
I've crossed the borders dozens of times over the decades, and lived in Canada. This was a jarring encounter that really brought home how arriving in Detroit in the post 9/11 era can be a highly unpleasant experience. I politely asked one of the guards who searched my car why I was randonly selected. "When you cross the international border you got to expect these things," he said. He wasn't smiling.
At least no one asked for bribes.

**detroitdoc** · March-29-10, 02:19 PM

They ask questions they're not legally allowed to, they abuse their power, and they're rude. They don't have a clue what they're doing. You can ask 3 guards the same question and get 3 different answers. It is completely unpleasant and unnecessary. I have been dealing with it for 10 years now. We finally moved to Detroit just to avoid it. Saving America one law-abiding Canadian at a time I guess.

lilpup · March-29-10, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by detroitdoc

They ask questions they're not legally allowed to

Like what?

**detroitdoc** · March-29-10, 02:34 PM

Like how much money you have with you, your relation to people in the car, how you pay for things, etc. They're just nosey. They can only legally ask you if you have more than 10k cash, not how much you have. Problem is, if you question it, they make your life miserable. Just a small example, but very irritating when you deal with it everyday. It's a common complaint from anybody who crosses on a regular basis. The list goes on and on.

In their defense, the laws are complicated and endless. It would be very hard to know what the heck is going on. Sometimes a little customer service goes a long way.

I have a friend that works for Homeland Security at the Tunnel in Detroit- he said most of the people that work there were the ones that were thrown in garbage cans in high school- now they're punishing the world one traveller at a time.

I do have to say that it has improved somewhat in the last 8 months or so.

**EastsideAl** · March-29-10, 03:39 PM

I can understand the increased scrutiny, but it's the rudeness and ignorance that bothers me most. To see Canadians - our peaceful friends for nearly 200 years now - treated like potential enemy combatants, and to see returning Americans treated like they have just gone to Iran, is infuriating. The nasty demeanor of many customs personnel, their seeming inability to respond civilly to reasonable questions, and their mode of treating citizens who have been pulled in for a simple customs inspection like arrestees in police station is really uncalled for.

To make matters worse for Detroiters and Windsorites who were raised crossing back and forth across between our cities with relative ease, the customs folks now seem to assign a lot of agents to our crossings who are from elsewhere in the country and unfamiliar with our area. And they don't seem to do much training for who and what they're likely to run into here, or the history of U.S. - Canadian interaction in this area - or even local geography.

I was quizzed at length a couple of years ago by a U.S. Customs agent who seemed deeply suspicious as to why I had driven through Canada to get from Buffalo to Detroit, and openly dismissive of my claim that it was the most direct route. Another time I went through a nearly 2 hour freak out from an agent with a southern accent, who went so far as to threaten to detain me and take my passport, when I told the booth agent that I was returning from visiting relatives in Canada. In the middle of this ridiculous grilling the southern accented agent asked me, with a straight face, "How come so many people around here claim to be 'visiting relatives' [[making little hand air quoting motions) when they're coming across that border?" He seemed incredulous, and dismissed it as a fantasy, when I explained that it's because a whole lot of us around here actually do have relatives on both sides. What a bozo, but he's sadly increasingly typical of the people working at our border crossings.

This pointless nastiness and foolishness is harmful to our area, to both our cities, and to our struggling local economies, which have been linked from the very beginnings of this area.

**detroitdoc** · March-29-10, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

I can understand the increased scrutiny, but it's the rudeness and ignorance that bothers me most. To see Canadians - our peaceful friends for nearly 200 years now - treated like potential enemy combatants, and to see returning Americans treated like they have just gone to Iran, is infuriating. The nasty demeanor of many customs personnel, their seeming inability to respond civilly to reasonable questions, and their mode of treating citizens who have been pulled in for a simple customs inspection like arrestees in police station is really uncalled for.

To make matters worse for Detroiters and Windsorites who were raised crossing back and forth across between our cities with relative ease, the customs folks now seem to assign a lot of agents to our crossings who are from elsewhere in the country and unfamiliar with our area. And they don't seem to do much training for who and what they're likely to run into here, or the history of U.S. - Canadian interaction in this area - or even local geography.

I was quizzed at length a couple of years ago by a U.S. Customs agent who seemed deeply suspicious as to why I had driven through Canada to get from Buffalo to Detroit, and openly dismissive of my claim that it was the most direct route. Another time I went through a nearly 2 hour freak out from an agent with a southern accent, who went so far as to threaten to detain me and take my passport, when I told the booth agent that I was returning from visiting relatives in Canada. In the middle of this ridiculous grilling the southern accented agent asked me, with a straight face, "How come so many people around here claim to be 'visiting relatives' [[making little hand air quoting motions) when they're coming across that border?" He seemed incredulous, and dismissed it as a fantasy, when I explained that it's because a whole lot of us around here actually do have relatives on both sides. What a bozo, but he's sadly increasingly typical of the people working at our border crossings.

This pointless nastiness and foolishness is harmful to our area, to both our cities, and to our struggling local economies, which have been linked from the very beginnings of this area.

I couldn't agree more. Literally exactly how it is at the border.

**softailrider** · March-29-10, 03:57 PM

I agree with all the negative comments written on the border crossing. Since 9-11, I just don't go to Canada unless I have to. There's too much uncertainty regarding how long it will take you to cross. Before 9-11, I really didn't feel the way I do now. My wife and I would go to Windsor for dinner and a casino trip a few times a year. Now we just don't bother - there's plenty of places to eat and casinos to lose money at around here without crossing any international border.

**Lowell** · March-29-10, 03:58 PM

The role American Border Security is to discourage tourism to Detroit because our hotels, restaurants, casinos, museums, sports venues and stores are so full that we cannot allow any more tourists in to spend their money here. Tourists need to be clearly told they are not welcome now and in the future. Returning citizens need to be reminded that they shouldn't leave the country and can expect worse treatment in the future.

Ironic part of it is that any terrorist can drive unobstructed onto the bridge or into the tunnel with ten tons of dynamite and blow them to kingdom come while "security" are prancing around your cars in their ninja uniforms pretending they are making us all more secure. Hello... your multi-million dollar Xray machines are on the wrong side of the roads.

Mr. Obama, Mr. Harper, tear down that wall!

**Detroitnerd** · March-29-10, 03:59 PM

Just more of the wondrous top-down organization of society we can expect in the age of "Homeland Security." See, law enforcement doesn't need to know the people and populations they police. Just need to talk tough, yell at people, harass everybody, and the evildoers will naturally be the ones who get caught in this dragnet.

**iheartthed** · March-29-10, 04:29 PM

I totally agree with the sentiments about border security. It has gone beyond just "protecting the border" to becoming just a downright demeaning experience. Last year, I drove back to Detroit from NYC once via Ontario. I had my passport, answered all questions without any hesitation, and even declared the vinyl record that I picked up at a used record shop in a town I briefly stopped in while in Ontario. They still sent me for a "random" vehicle search and secondary screening. I guess my freaking passport with my place of birth clearly printed wasn't enough to prove that I'm a citizen.

LodgeDodger · March-29-10, 04:45 PM

These accounts are so different from what betterhalf and I encounter at the border! Sure, we've run into security members who were a bit lacking in personality, but never have we experienced a problem. Perhaps it's an age thing--we're not spring chickens. I'm not sure what is happening to everyone else.

I've weighed in on this subject before, I believe the border security to be a vital part of our nation's security.

**jeffb** · March-29-10, 04:49 PM

i went to boston last weekend, and drove the long way around just to avoid all the hassle.

**Detroitnerd** · March-29-10, 04:52 PM

Why do I think this is economic? Could be a way to harass anybody who'd dare to spend their dinner dollars in Windsor, if you think about it.

LodgeDodger · March-29-10, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

Why do I think this is economic? Could be a way to harass anybody who'd dare to spend their dinner dollars in Windsor, if you think about it.

Well now, I could get behind that concept...

**SWMAP** · March-29-10, 05:06 PM

Last week I had an appointment in Windsor. I am an Irish-American female of mature years.On returning to the US the Homeland Security person asked me where I was coming from. I replied "Windsor." He said nastily: "Everyone who comes across this border is coming from Windsor." I said that i really was coming from Windsor, not london or Toronto - just windsor. Then he wanted to know what I did there> I said that iIwas meeting with a lawyer. Who and Why?? I said the name of the law firm [[how would he even know if truth or tale) and said that I had some property business there. The agent carefully searched my car and asked me some more questions, noting that "this might be beyond your capabilities..."

I have a passport. The agent's screen shows him that I am driving a car registered to me. I wish I knew why they want to know where I work, what my title is, the nature of my business in Windsor?

**punky1** · March-29-10, 05:07 PM

All the time and money wasted for the "show" of security. Until they xray every vehicle it is a joke and all the while folks are running back and forth across the border from Calif. to Texas. On another note, next time they ask about all the relatives, and you don't have anything to do for the next several hours, just tell 'em you are visiting all your relatives who were draft dodgers in the Vietnam era. That should get you some attention.

Years before 9/11 they were rude and I hated going over to Canada even back then. Put a uniform and a badge on some folks and it goes to their head. Not all of them, just some of them.

**eriedearie** · March-29-10, 05:51 PM

Dodger - give it time - your day will come. We're not spring chickens either. We've been getting hassled at the border crossings for 38 years!

We got pulled in for the random check just 2 weeks ago - on the Canadian side. Just as snotty here as on the US side. When asked if we had more than 10K with us, I snickered. The guy wanted to know if he was a comedian. I said yeah, if you think we have 10K!

Ended up getting a lecture from the lady border guard. Early in the day I picked up some posters I had mailed to my sister's house in Troy. I forgot I even had them, therefore, forgot to declare their value. Only declared the groceries we bought and declared the jeans and t-shirt my grandson bought. The way she spoke to me, you would have thought "Thou shalt declare every single item you acquire while out of Canada" was one of the The Ten Commandments!

*******
Now Carey - Not that I don't sympathize with your plight - like I said, we've been through it many times. But why did you have to mention the guy telling you where to look was overweight? What does his stature have to do with your story? If he was black with a peg leg, would you have mentioned that? What if he was extremely skinny and had a pock-marked face? Just because the guy is overweight does he not deserve to have a job? Just wondering why you put a negative spin on that??

Excuse me if I sorta thread jacked, but I have an issue with this sort of thing. A person's physical characteristics should have no bearing on their abilities to carry out a job. IMHO

**FlyByDon** · March-29-10, 06:01 PM

Ladies and gentleman, this is just the beginning.

Your rights as citizens of the Americas are dwindling every day under the disguise of
“Homeland Security”.

**yupislyr** · March-29-10, 06:07 PM

At some point in the future you'll get it going both ways as the US border folks want to interrogate everyone as they leave the country too.

**Sstashmoo** · March-29-10, 06:12 PM

Flyby, you said it.

This sort of thing is torn right from the pages of the Nazi handbook.

We just need to get our ass out of certain parts of the world and we won't have to live like this. I refuse to go to Canada or fly. I will NOT be treated like a criminal by these idiots.

The most idiotic thing about this, is the fact that they treat people like that just trying to travel FREEly between our PEACEful neighbor. our F'ing borders are wide open, north and south. Harassing people like that is pointless. If someone wants in, they'll get in and unchecked. Ask the people in southern Arizona, California and Texas. This is just a jackboot to the throat of law abiding citizens from our present government.

**Gistok** · March-29-10, 06:17 PM

I have Detroit area friends with relatives in upstate New York. When they visit their relatives they always go thru Ohio and Pennsylvania rather than taking the shortcut thru "Checkpoint Charlie"....

LodgeDodger · March-29-10, 06:20 PM

Hmm..must be my charm.

**Detroitej72** · March-29-10, 06:21 PM

How ironic, while Europe is dismantling it's boarders, America is putting up hers.

**gnome** · March-29-10, 06:24 PM

If you want an ez crossing, go up to Algonac and take the ferry over to Walpole Island. It is a little out of the way, but it is just plain cool to cross in an open decked ferry.

Border Guards are paid to be pricks. That is their job. To expect otherwise is to court disaster. You can thank Mr. bin Laden for all this.

**Hermod** · March-29-10, 06:42 PM

I have never had a difficult time with US immigration or customs folks while coming into the US through Detroit, Port Huron, Buffalo, New York City, Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, or Los Angeles. The only time I ever had any static from a border guard was a Canuckistani guard in Niagra Falls, A Luxumbourg guard at the Airport, and a US customs guy in the Bahamas. The Bahamas one really got me. I had helped a friend deliver a yacht to Grand Bahama and we were flying back to Fort Lauderdale from the island. The Bahamas and Bermuda have the US customs and immigration folks living there and you clear the US stuff before you get on the plane because they fly into open terminals in the US. This was after 9/11 and Omar the Tentmaker was getting on the plane in front of us. The guard just waved him through, but really cracked down on my yacht captain friend and I because we were traveling on one-way tickets.