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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Problems for Canadians entering the US |
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| Leslie |
| 11/11/02 at 05:57:41 |
| [slm] I received this e-mail today. (For those who do not already know, the US has implemented a discriminatory policy stating that Canadians born in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries must be fingerprinted and photographed before being allowed to enter the US. Only Canadians born in Muslim countries are currently subjected to such treatment, although I am really curious to see what they would do if I tried to cross the border in my hijab.) [wlm] ----- It might help any parties concerned in resolving these issues, that this story has now been on CBC radio (yesterday afternoon; but it can still be listened to: [url]www.vancouver.cbc.ca/afternoonshow[/url]) in the Globe and Mail today (in print, page A7, and online: [url]http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20021106/UHASSXE/national/national/nationalTheNationHeadline_temp/1/1/32/[/url])and on CBC The National this evening (we hope). Please forward this e-mail to anybody who might be interested. Thanks for your all your help. sjb steven j. barnes -----Original Message----- From: Steven j. Barnes Sent: November 5, 2002 12:27 PM To: 'Graduate Secretary' Subject: US Customs problems Would you mind forwarding the following letter to as many people as possible. I would appreciate it. Thank you. ------- I would like to relate events (see below) which took place when my wife, Behnaz Tehrani-Ami, and I attempted a trip down to Orlando, Florida for the purposes of presenting my research at the Society for Neuroscience meeting. I am sure that this sort of treatment by US customs officials, whether it be directed at UBC researchers themselves or at their loved ones, will impact us all. We would appreciate any help you might be able to provide in relating this matter to the Canadian academic community, and in expediting negotiations with the US to stop the mistreatment of Canadian citizens with birthplaces outside of Canada. Although we have had good success in attaining media interest in the events described below (they will be airing on CBC radio today, in the Globe and Mail tomorrow, and in a variety of other community newspapers in the lower mainland), whether such coverage actually makes any changes to these discriminatory US policies is ultimately up to individuals like yourself. Thank you for your time. Steven j. Barnes. Dept. of Psychology, University of British Columbia 2136 West Mall, Rm. 2509 Vancouver, B.C., Canada.V6T 1Z4 ------- I would like to inform you about the humiliating treatment I received at US Customs at the Vancouver International Airport on Saturday, November 2, 2002, one day after news agencies in Canada reported that you had been assured by US officials that the US will no longer fingerprint, photograph and "register" Canadian visitors simply because they were born in certain countries. Only because we believed that this policy was retracted, my husband and I decided to go ahead with our previously planned trip to Orlando, where my husband (Steven Barnes) was to present at the Society for Neuroscience Conference. At the airport, after receiving our boarding passes, we lined up to pass through US Customs. There, I presented my Canadian passport (which records my birthplace as Iran) and consequently was asked several questions related to my Iranian background: when did you come to Canada , have you been back to Iran , etc. He did not ask my husband (who was born in Canada) any questions. Then, the customs officer turned to my husband and said, "this may be awkward for you Sir, but we need to ask her more questions. You can accompany her over to the Customs office". At this point, I protested that US officials had retracted their policy, to which he replied, No, what our representative said is that we will not automatically screen you ! He sent us to wait outside the US Customs office. After being called into the office (my husband accompanied me), a female customs officer asked me more questions about my ties to Iran, "when did you come to Canada", "when had you last been back to Iran", "why did you go there", "do you have family there", "do you hold an Iranian passport", "do you plan to visit there in the future", etc. She proceeded to tell me about the procedures a person like myself has to go through before entering the US. They would have to "register" me, meaning: they have to conduct another interview, fingerprint and photograph me. I was told that subsequent to this registration process, if I were admitted to the US, I could only leave the US through designated exit ports and if I were to stay more than thirty days or travel within the US, I would have to report to an official. At this point, my husband and I told the customs officer that we would not be travelling to US, thereby officially withdrawing our request to enter the US. She then sent us back out to the waiting room. Several minutes later, I was called in by myself. This time, a male customs officer began asking me questions, more of the same sorts of questions, while typing the information in the computer. The female customs officer, who had previously questioned me, stood behind him. She took my passport and made a photocopy. She then proceeded to tell me that if I chose not to comply with their "registration" process, the next time I attempted to enter the US, I could be denied entry. I replied that I am a Canadian citizen and that, as our government had stated just two days earlier, all Canadian citizens are to be treated equally regardless of their place of birth. She replied, "our congress has decided that people of certain origins should be registered." Once again, I was sent out to the waiting room. There, I waited with my husband. A few minutes later the same female customs officer approached us in the waiting area. She told me that even though I had decided not to enter the US, they would still need to finish the registration process (which, when I asked, included being fingerprinted and photographed). She proceeded to intimidate me by telling me that only people who have something to hide don't want to be fingerprinted. This was followed by an argument about whether we were still in Canada or US: she insisting that we were in the US. My husband repeatedly asked are we not in a pre-clearance facility? (still considered to be on Canadian soil) but was never given an answer. I asked to speak with a Canadian official and she told me "no, they won't get involved in this"; my husband asked to speak with the RCMP officer sitting in an office few meters away, she replied he can t help you ; my husband asked to make a phone call or speak to a lawyer to which she said "but you are not being arrested" and walked away. At this time we had no idea what our rights were. We had read in a publication for Canadians travelling to the US, posted on Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade s website, that the pre-clearance facility is considered to be on Canadian soil, yet we were being told otherwise by this US customs officer. We did not know if we could walk away. We did not know if they could fingerprint me. A few minutes later I was called in (by myself) for a third time; the male customs officer was writing on a form. I began to ask him about what the woman had just told me (about completing the "registration process"), but he gestured that I remain silent and kept writing. He then gave me the form that he had been writing on. The form was titled, "Notice of ineligibility for pre-flight clearance" and none of the listed reasons for such ineligibility were checked. Instead, on the bottom, he had written that I had refused to completion the inspection in reference to ENSEERS [National Security Entry-Exit Registration System] program" [sic]. I protestedthat I had not refused but rather, I had withdrawn my request to enter the US, to which he replied, if you choose to word it that way . He then informed me about Section 274(b) , which states that if I were to enter the US via land, and if I were the driver of a car, the car could be ceased. He then asked me if I knew my way out! On our way out, I asked him for the name of the female officer who had told me that I still needed to be fingerprinted and photographed (even after stating that I would not enter the US), but he told me that he could not do that, even though they wore name tags. My husband asked him whether we were on Canadian soil, but he gave no answer. My husband asked him whether we were in the pre-clearance facility, he still did not answer. Out of frustration and fear of what could happen if we pursued our questioning we left. Luckily, on the way out we encountered the female customs officer. I went up to her and took down her name. She informed me that she was the supervisor. I believe that my rights as a Canadian citizen were violated while still on Canadian soil: "the customs officer continued to ask me questions even AFTER I had stated that I would not enter the US (i.e., I had already withdrawn my request to enter the US), "the customs officer told me that even though I had decided not to enter the US, I still had to complete the registration process, be fingerprinted and photographed, "the customs officer told my husband and I that we were in the US, "we received no answer to our repeatedly asked question of whether we were in the pre-clearance facility (and hence on Canadian soil), "when asked to speak to a Canadian official or an RCMP officer, we were told that they would not get involved in this or he can t help you , "I was given a form on which the US customs officer has stated that I refused to comply with their NSEERS program. This is not true. Once told about the registration process, I and my husband clearly stated that we will not enter the US, thereby officially withdrawing our request to enter the US. All of this happened to a Canadian citizen and on Canadian soil. While there never was any indication that my husband could not enter the US, he decided to remain with me in Canada. As a result, he was prevented from presenting his research at a major academic conference in Orlando. We were not refunded for our airline tickets nor for our reservation fee paid for the hotel in Orlando. While the US might be able to justify the enforcement of their policies in the name of national security, I strongly object to such humiliating treatment targeted at Canadian citizens born in certain countries, the refusal by US customs officers to answer questions about our legal rights, and their use of intimidation tactics on Canadian citizens whilst in their own country. I urge you and the Canadian government to oppose such discriminatory practices and to take immediate action. Sincerely, Behnaz Tehrani-Ami |
| NS |
| 11/11/02 at 05:59:07 |
| Leslie |
| Re: Problems for Canadians entering the US |
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| jannah |
| 11/11/02 at 14:51:56 |
| [slm] Our speaker was not allowed to enter the US because of some 'technicalities'. And they don't even allow you to get what you need by fax or any other means. I'd suggest that people traveling be extremely careful have every document you'd need and make sure you have everything they could possibly ask for and read up on these new descriminatory conditions and requirements. |
| Re: Problems for Canadians entering the US |
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| theOriginal |
| 11/11/02 at 16:24:16 |
| [slm] There will still be problems entering into the US through the Canadian border, no doubt...but... They dropped the idea of checking people of certain nationalities. People who are citizens of all Commonwealth countries (excluding Canadians) now require an American visa to cross the border (it was not so previously.) However, it has been ruled that you cannot label citizens of one country differently because of where they were born. In other words, there can't be two types of Canadians. The Americans quickly dropped legalizing this when they realized what a huge problem this could cause at the International level. But who's stopping them from doing it in other ways :) Now I have a question. Possibly the wrong place for this post, but anyway... We are all against terrorism. Because there is a fine line between Jihaad and shooting in an aimless westerly direction (pun intended)... I was watching a news report on a Canadian station a few nights ago. Needless to say Canadian media is slightly less biased than CNN, and so there was a heated debate on this very issue. Do you guys think that the Americans are justified (the case is very strong) for them to be slightly discriminatory when sniffing out terrorists? I mean really...to be honest, the chances of an 80 year old white female hijacking a plane is almost nill. In this day and age, at the very least. There is a certain profile for the kinds of people that have been committing threatening acts to the US of A....and the 80 yr old doesn't fit the bill. I understand that if they do find a way to make this justifiable, then they could take extreme advantage of this...but still...it makes me think. Time to make something clear: 1) I have not called 9/11/01 a "terrorist" action...whether I think it is or not, is irrelevant to this discussion. 2) I have not stated my opinion on whether I think this is justifiable or not, I was just voicing what i heard on this talk show, and would like your opinions on it. Please respond. Wasalaam. SF. |
| Re: Problems for Canadians entering the US |
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| Julie |
| 11/11/02 at 17:52:31 |
| [quote]However, it has been ruled that you cannot label citizens of one country differently because of where they were born. In other words, there can't be two types of Canadians. The Americans quickly dropped legalizing this when they realized what a huge problem this could cause at the International level. [/quote] From my understanding, even though Canada was assured by the US that there wouldn't be 2 types of citizens, this is still going on. There has been talk about dropping the place of birth from Canadian passports to try to get around the new US border screening policies (although I'm not sure that this would make a huge difference.) Sad. |
| Re: Problems for Canadians entering the US |
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| bhaloo |
| 11/11/02 at 21:38:48 |
| [slm] I'm confused. ??? I got something similiar to this in email but it applied to people living in America. As an american citizen living in California, can i fly to canada without any papers? ??? Whatabout a passport? Basically what I'm askind does it affect me, who does it affect? |
| 11/11/02 at 21:39:16 |
| bhaloo |
| Re: Problems for Canadians entering the US |
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| saadia |
| 11/12/02 at 18:58:09 |
| [slm] From what I've experienced, as a US citizen flying and driving to Canada a lot since 9/11 is difficult without a passport. The company I work for is based in Montreal and every time I go there I have papers from there saying exactly why I'm going there and for how long and numbers to contact if there are any problems/questions. I made them make these papers up for me bc I tend to be a lil paranoid crossing the border. The last 2 times I flew there I was "randomly checked" and I didn't have a passport, I used my drivers license and my birth certificate, which is technically all you need. (Couldn't find my passport at the time) I flew on 9/11 this year from Canada to the US and it was ROUGH! I didn't think they would let me get on the plane! But Alhumdulillah I did and got home. My last 2 trips there I drove and both times they made me go inside to Customs/Immigration and it wasn't pretty. All the people inside the room were of Middle Eastern/Pakistani descent. It was really sad. After I was herded into the room with them I overheard a Canadian Customs official say "They make the room stink" I almost LOST IT on her. I was there for 2 hours waiting and they finally let me go on my way. Again, I used my birth certificate and license. I think that raises a red flag for them (besides the color of my skin of course) and they automatically make you go in to Customs. So, TAKE YOUR PASSPORT no matter what! [wlm] |
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