Journalist searched at Border
A journalist was headed back home through the Austin airport after doing some reporting in Mexico. He went through border control and was met by an officer. This officer first asked basic questions at first such as "How long were you there" "What were you doing" and so on. Then, he started to inquire about the substance of the story he was working on. This should be non of his business. The nature of someones journalistic work in a foreign country has nothing to do with proof that he's an American citizen. After declining to give information on the story he worked on, officer Blowhard took him to secondary screening for more interrogation. The journalist points out how border control has drastically changed under republican rule. They now see themselves as a counter terrorism strike force. The journalist asked if was being taped earlier, which they denied, but it turns out another officer had "reviewed the tape" and deemed he was ripe for interrogation. Which, is evidence that police are happy to lie to get the information they want.
They sat the journalist down in the room and told him he wasn't under arrest, but needed to answer some more questions to gain entry. This was illegal, as you can't deny an American citizen entry to the United States. He at first joked around telling them he was reviewing the best guacamole in Mexico. Officer Blowhard did not that this kindly as he threatened to hold him much longer. He then told the true story of why he was there, but this still wasn't enough, The CBP apparently works under its own set of rules where it can crack laptops, phones, and read through any of your personal information. The officers said they will search these things for child pornography and links to terrorism. They rummaged through all his pictures and emails. They asked him about his political beliefs. They asked if he had connections to the Taliban in Syria... the Taliban isnt in Syria. They then wrote down They used all their power to try to get some dirt on him. Which, turns out to be a lot.
The issue here is, most of the things they did were legally in their power to do. If they deem you as threat off their biased judgements, you are in for complete scrutiny. The have complete discrepancy to deem who is a threat and will lie, invade your private information, and whatever it takes to dig up some dirt for a charge. This is what happened here. They will even break laws to dig up some dirt in hope that the suspect is unaware of these violations. If a white American citizen receives this kind of treatment for simply being a journalist, then you can only imagine the scrutiny a non-white immigrant would face. The CBP's judgement determines the fate and well being of a non-white immigrant coming to flee violence or economic destitute.
It is also interesting that many other journalists have had a similar experience at the border as reported in the story. This could be linked to the will of the republican party to suppress information about border issues.
They sat the journalist down in the room and told him he wasn't under arrest, but needed to answer some more questions to gain entry. This was illegal, as you can't deny an American citizen entry to the United States. He at first joked around telling them he was reviewing the best guacamole in Mexico. Officer Blowhard did not that this kindly as he threatened to hold him much longer. He then told the true story of why he was there, but this still wasn't enough, The CBP apparently works under its own set of rules where it can crack laptops, phones, and read through any of your personal information. The officers said they will search these things for child pornography and links to terrorism. They rummaged through all his pictures and emails. They asked him about his political beliefs. They asked if he had connections to the Taliban in Syria... the Taliban isnt in Syria. They then wrote down They used all their power to try to get some dirt on him. Which, turns out to be a lot.
The issue here is, most of the things they did were legally in their power to do. If they deem you as threat off their biased judgements, you are in for complete scrutiny. The have complete discrepancy to deem who is a threat and will lie, invade your private information, and whatever it takes to dig up some dirt for a charge. This is what happened here. They will even break laws to dig up some dirt in hope that the suspect is unaware of these violations. If a white American citizen receives this kind of treatment for simply being a journalist, then you can only imagine the scrutiny a non-white immigrant would face. The CBP's judgement determines the fate and well being of a non-white immigrant coming to flee violence or economic destitute.
It is also interesting that many other journalists have had a similar experience at the border as reported in the story. This could be linked to the will of the republican party to suppress information about border issues.
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