Weird, as I travel a heck of a lot internationally, to include a flight to/from the UAE within the last week and upon returning to the US you head to ICE where they stamp the passport and customs declaration form, and then you pick up your checked bags and go to the next ICE station where they collect your customs form and possibly select you for screening if you might look like you are a smuggler or something.
Once clear of ICE stations (both), you are free to go. You simply walk out. The only time you need to see TSA again is if you have a connecting flight, and then you need to have a ticket and find your way to the usual TSA mouth-breather stations.
Something is odd about the article. Very odd. Perhaps someone that flew internationally within the last couple of days can chime in.
My experiences have been the same as yours. Same with my fellow workers.
I just returned from Europe last Friday, and went through customs in Chicago. All international arrivals go through their isolated Terminal 5. You go through customs, which I was able to do by answering one or two brief questions, and then pick up your luggage. If you have a connecting flight, which I did, you can re-check your luggage without a lot of issues. After Customs and re-checking luggage in Terminal 5, I boarded a train to another terminal, where I once again had to go through security. Aside from the basic metal detectors and removal of shoes, belts and laptops, I wasn't asked to do anything unusual. No Backscatter machines or pat-downs.