Humiliation greets visitor at airport

The Mercury News ^ | August 13, 2002 | Truong Phuoc Khánh

[snopercod]

Every summer for the past 25 years, New Zealand native Maggie Anderson and her American husband have visited their family in Portola Valley.

But never before had her visit begun in handcuffs and humiliation.

Upon landing at Los Angeles International Airport at 11 a.m on July 24, Anderson -- a former flight attendant who had flown in and out of U.S. airports hundreds of times -- was questioned and arrested by federal immigration agents.

[G Larry]

I wonder if these people ever worry about provoking later retaliation?
I can imagine being motivated to etch many meaningful details into my brain.

[ml/nj]

I hate to break into this article with a reality check, but she isn't innocent! She broke the law! If your visa ends on August 15 and you're still here August 16, YOU'RE A CRIMINAL. If this had been a Saudi Arabian who's traveled here 100 times before and the INS suddenly figured out that he'd overstayed his visa by eight days a few years ago, FR would be cheering their actions on this.

And I hate to address stupidity, but someone's got to do it.

What you are suggesting is akin to the police impounding your car because they had proof that you were driving 70 mph on some interstate a couple of years ago. It's not clear to me when our crack Immigration officials figured out that this woman had overstayed a visa three years ago, but whenever that was, was the time to have the law address that issue. Her having done this (assuming she did, which I think is a bit of a big assumption) is no more relevant to her potential threat to our country than your speeding violation.

The Immigration "officials" would be better off hailing cabs in New York City. It's a shame that some Freepers show no more judgment than the cretans who "guard" our airports.

ML/NJ

[Vidalia]

Do you only respond to pieces of a response, rather than the entire piece?

Do you have elderly family members that you care about?

Would you be so tartoid if one of the new "professional" screeners decided that it was necessary to see your grandmother's nipples to assure the others in line that it wasn't a pasty composed of Plastique?

[1rudeboy]

I'm going to bump this thread and keep it for future reference the next time a member here spouts that the INS is slacking-off. I am astounded that so many are willing to cut the INS so much slack. This woman was out-of-status . . . she had a flag on her file. If she didn't want third-degree treatment, then maybe she shouldn't have broken the law.

"How can you do this, I'm from New Zealand" [whine]

[TopQuark]

All this is perpetrated because Mrs. Anderson is a while female from New Zeland: hold up and humiliate a dozen white unsuspecting travelers so that we can search one Middle-Eastern type without being accused of profiling.

Is this not a defintion of insanity --- when people turn on their friends and sleep with the enemy?

[Chu Gary]

"I guess I'll get flamed for saying this, but I hold President Bush personally responsible for this BS. I wish I believed he had a clue about who our enemies are and who our enemies are not. (I'll give him a clue: 51 year-old women from New Zeeland are not the problem, and everytime we spend time paying attention to them, some dirt-eating bastard with a towel on his head walks by to assist in our destruction.)"

Bush can appoint a limited number of positions. Klintoon, and the beast, had 8 years to pack many organizations with diehard Commie Demoncrats - Bush can't fire those people. Look at a lot of the problems surfacing these days and you can likely trace the root of the issue to a middle level person hired under the purview of one of Klintoon's appointed hit people. Yes, Bush deserves some blame for what has/haas not been happening, but I submit that the problems, for the most part, trace right back to Bubba's legacy! Corruption for all!

[lds23]

Ah, yes, the hand-wringing anecdote.

[mo]

Hey..standing around an air-conditioned airport harrassing grannies beats the he** out of chasing wetbacks and towelheads across the Rio Grande...

[Kozak]

KMA At least they try, btw her crime was overstaying a visa like alot of the 9-11 attackers had. She was put on a list and caught.

Do you have any idea how stupid this sounds? You REALLY think that middle aged New Zeelanders are a threat to the security of the US? HOw would you like to travel overseas, have a technical violation of some obscure law and be treated like this woman? Is there no place for common sense in how we deal with these things?

[DainBramage]

a reality check, but she isn't innocent! She broke the law!

Exactly my point all along. This isn't some "big government" "Arbitrary search"...yada yada, she was flagged at some point and frisked by women when trying to enter the country. Horrifying.

Alot of people here bash everything done by the government no matter what, but would be the same ones screaming about the lack of security if she had gotten through and had been carrying something and used it. While I know that the quality of airport screeners was extremely low it has improved and will more so in the future I hope.

If anyone thinks middle eastern looking males are the only types fanatical enough to do our nation harm, then do some reading on who Mcvey hung out with in Oklahoma, or read up on the IRA bombers of the past. Any Palestinian women could bleach her hair, obtain a New Zealand passport and come right through easy.

[mountaineer]

No travel violation, INS officials say, is too minor after Sept. 11. ``We have been the subject of very harsh criticism since 9-11,'' said Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for the INS Western region. ``All our employees understand we cannot afford to make any mistakes now, and everybody is very, very vigilant. The stakes in this climate are very high.''

That would explain why, within the past two weeks, when the Glen Dale, W.Va., police had three illegal aliens in custody on traffic violations (and then discovered they had no papers), the INS office in Pittsburgh refused to make the less than 1-1/2 hour drive to pick them up and initiate deportation, instead telling the police chief to "let them go." Reportedly, the INS office just didn't have the manpower at the time. No mention of why they didn't tell the chief to put them in jail until INS could find "the manpower" to pick them up, however. In any event, the three were released and are free as birds now. Good job, INS.

[DainBramage]

I don't know if your naive or just like to complain. Do you really want airport screeners making that call on an individual basis? "Well she looked young to me but her pasport said she was 51 so I let her through".

One thing for sure,she won't overstay her visa again, and a message is sent to anyone doing so that things have changed. Plenty of middle eastern types are being checked just the same way.

[jammer]

You may get flamed, but you are correct. The buck has to stop someplace and his office is that place. I don't know whom to believe--the left that thinks he's a low-IQ guy or the libertarian right that thinks he's a one-worlder--but I know he ain't the George Bush that I voted for.

[coydog]

Hmmph... I have never been on a commercial airliner in all my years and now I don't intend ever to board one, except for essential business and family reasons. If one wants to pay hundreds of dollars or more to be dominated, hassled, threatened and humiliated, why not just hire the services of a dominatrix? At least it would be more fun that way and they at least accept the idea of a 'safeword'.

[Trajan88]

I was stopped by a Canadian official (maybe he was customs, maybe not - he had a badge and was at a check point - I could not proceed without stopping at this check point) prior to placing my bag on the conveyor; after I had said confrontation, I placed my bag on the conveyor and proceeded to the therminal. Once in the corridor to the gates I came upon another check point - it was here I met with U.S. Customs - at that point I told U.S. Customs that it was great to once again be dealing with Americans since I was just fleeced by Canadian customs.

By the way - I know a Canadian uniform when I see one - the uniform had a Canadian insignia on it.

I knew I would not have to go through customs when I arrived at St. Louis since I went through customs in Toronto.

Trajan88; TAMU Class of '88

[Kozak]

I don't know if your naive or just like to complain. Do you really want airport screeners making that call on an individual basis? "Well she looked young to me but her pasport said she was 51 so I let her through". One thing for sure,she won't overstay her visa again, and a message is sent to anyone doing so that things have changed. Plenty of middle eastern types are being checked just the same way.

Yeah I would like SOMEONE to use their common sense. There are people who are an INCREASED threat to the US. They have a high correlation with adult Middle eastern males. This bullshit of assaulting everyone "equally" makes us no safer. Apparently you believe that as long as idiocy is applied equally its okay. The only message sent is that the Terrorists are winning. One of the basics of terror is to provoke an excessive responce. When you combine the idiotic excess you approve of, with the PC blindness of not focusing on the REAL threat, THEY WIN.

[shaggy eel]

Any Palestinian women could bleach her hair, obtain a New Zealand passport and come right through easy.

,,, do you write Hollywood scripts? The worst damage New Zealanders will do to the US is deciding to holiday in Hong Kong, Aussie or at home instead of taking a paranoia add on before they get to their package deal hotels in Anaheim.

[DainBramage]

Everyone is not being assaulted, so quit freaking out. Not even 5% of travelers are being searched in the first place. Read the article, she went back, applied for a visa and returned, no problems. Idiocy would be to tolerate any lax security at our borders, period. If they had just pulled her out of line and strip searched her to be pc, then it would be different, but that wasn't the case.

[shaggy eel]

Idiocy would be to tolerate any lax security at our borders, period.

,,, and that would never happen, would it?