Questions for our American friends

[1952224]

this was a traffic stop in irving texas.2 women stopped in their car by state troopers for throwing their fag ends out of the car the female officer does a cavity search by the side of the road is this normal procedure ? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ught-tape.html

[DTravel]

Originally Posted by 1952224

this was a traffic stop in irving texas.2 women stopped in their car by state troopers for throwing their fag ends out of the car the female officer does a cavity search by the side of the road is this normal procedure ?

No, its not normal procedure. Far from it. Those women have grounds for a serious lawsuit.

[blueballsdc]

Originally Posted by 1952224

this was a traffic stop in irving texas.2 women stopped in their car by state troopers for throwing their fag ends out of the car the female officer does a cavity search by the side of the road is this normal procedure ? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ught-tape.html

Only in my fantasies.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by 1952224

this was a traffic stop in irving texas.2 women stopped in their car by state troopers for throwing their fag ends out of the car the female officer does a cavity search by the side of the road is this normal procedure ? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ught-tape.html

Years ago, a friend of mine (we'll call him Steve) was with a group making a bike tour of Central America. When they reached the US border, my friend was the one who was delegated to enter the border postand answer the questions. The US border guards were friendly and interested in everywhere the party had been, though I am sure they were professionally interested as well in making sure these British, Australian and New Zealander bikers were the genuine article. The senior officer was apparently an attractive woman and clearly had a sense of humour. At the end, she proposed a practical joke. Steve walked out, wincing and with his legs apart wider than they should be, and she followed him out, peeling off a rubber glove...

The group made excellent time heading north.

[deepsepia]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

Years ago, a friend of mine (we'll call him Steve) was with a group making a bike tour of Central America. When they reached the US border, my friend was the one who was delegated to enter the border postand answer the questions. The US border guards were friendly and interested in everywhere the party had been,

The US border is a strange no-man's land for the Constitution. I live near the border with Canada, and lots of folks cross it every day. There's even a cartographic oddity called Point Roberts, which is US territory, but where kids have to pass through Canada to get to their schools.

The effect of this, though, is that you waive many of your Constitutional protections every time you cross the border . . . you've consented to a warrantless search of your person and property, down to accessing and copying whatever computing devices you might have with you (though in practice they don't do this without some cause).

The US is particularly cautious at the land borders, because when you're driving a vehicle, you can be bringing something very nasty in (viz Y2K bombers)

Advice to travelers to the US: don't assume that the US border guys will be cheerful or amused-- the Canadians are (though they're always worried that US have weapons), but the US border is now serious business.

Erotica is a particular worry -- we have cases where border folks have searched laptops, found underage material, and folks landed in a heap of trouble . . . if you cross the border, do it with a porn-free laptop.

[haroldeye]

I crossed into Montana in 2003 and was severely unimpressed with US Immigration. The Control officer was a cross between Aunt Peg and the female gym sargeant from the Police Academy films. She could have been sexy but she was just rude and nasty. I pointed out to her that the next time her bloody boss wanted some help invading other peoples country's I wouldn't be going. No sense of humour, nor indeed any sense of anything except her own self importance.

[9876543210]

1952224,

Originally Posted by 1952224

this was a traffic stop in irving texas.2 women stopped in their car by state troopers for throwing their fag ends out of the car the female officer does a cavity search by the side of the road is this normal procedure ? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ught-tape.html

Well, thats Texas for ya. For those that don't know, Texas is a bit different, and native Texans seem to take pride in it. Been there quite a few times and really don't like it very much. Except for Austin which is probably about the only place in the state where progressive minded people can feel comfortable.

Texas really is a very red state. They execute more people in that state than the rest of the country combined. And take pride in that.

No, thats not normal anywhere in the US. But it doesn't surprise me it happened in Texas. For those of you outside the US wanting to vacation here, don't go to Texas. There are many better places to go.

[tygrkhat40]

I too live near the Canadian border and to me and my family, a border crossing is serious business to us. Although, my grandfather once said that you could smuggle a couple of Chinamen in your trunk with three sleeping kids in the back. Of course, this was in the 1940's. And my grandmother was a smuggler during the war. She would bring aluminum pots into Canada with food in them. She'd just leave the pot behind. And then she would bring unrationed things from Canada back into the States without telling her husband until they got home.

But whenever I cross the border it's "Yes, sir" or "No, ma'am" and no funny stuff.

"I was crossing the border into Canada and they asked if I had any weapons. I said, 'Whatta you need?'"

--Steven Wright

[blueballsdc]

Originally Posted by haroldeye

I crossed into Montana in 2003 and was severely unimpressed with US Immigration. The Control officer was a cross between Aunt Peg and the female gym sargeant from the Police Academy films. She could have been sexy but she was just rude and nasty. I pointed out to her that the next time her bloody boss wanted some help invading other peoples country's I wouldn't be going. No sense of humour, nor indeed any sense of anything except her own self importance.

That sounds like my mother! Did she have a red bouffant hairdo and go by the name Bernie?

[deepsepia]

Originally Posted by haroldeye

I crossed into Montana in 2003 and was severely unimpressed with US Immigration. The Control officer was a cross between Aunt Peg and the female gym sargeant from the Police Academy films. She could have been sexy but she was just rude and nasty. I pointed out to her that the next time her bloody boss wanted some help invading other peoples country's I wouldn't be going. No sense of humour, nor indeed any sense of anything except her own self importance.

So, part of what happened on the northern border was 9/11, and part was the "millennium bomber" -- a guy who crossed from Vancouver Island to Port Angeles, Washington with a car loaded with explosives -- his plan was to drive to LA and set it off at LAX airport.

Up to 2000, the Northern border was very casual and friendly, you'd wave a driver's license and get waved through. After 2000/2001, the border got militarized.

The training these guys (and gals) get emphasizes asking aggressive questions, to see if you stumble. My advice: don't joke with these folks. A lot are now ex-military, and the person you rib about invading other countries may be recently discharged after tours in Afghanistan. You may think its funny, but these guys don't (the Canadians, on the other hand, are much more relaxed, and will joke around-- except about guns). Land crossings are particularly strict-- at airports, there's some public relations pressure to say "have a nice day" and so on.

And remember, at the border, you have very few rights, if they want to make life hard for you, they can.