Maybe I didn't make myself clear. I'm not going to debate this subject.
That said, I distinctly remember reading the Customs and Border site about a year ago (a good idea for I travel often out of CONUS). It made pretty clear (and I paraphrase here) that they reserved the right to detain and search anyone they might have doubts about or have reason to suspect. They busted some good naturalized citizens here in CT last year. Seems they weren't entirely truthful about who they really were. Unfortunately, we have a few native born citizens that seem to have gone to the dark side as well.
99.9999% percent of people cross the borders with little or no problem. The rest get checked, period.
Gotta get to the office, where I am swamped, so my responses are limited by the time available, not interest. (Would love to discuss Yeats!)
But we also looked at the Customs and Border site pretty closely back on the original thread (check out the link Jan in Colorado posted). Bottom line is, they are not supposed to detain citizens without specific cause once citizenship has been established...and probable cause was not provided in this case.
Do we want law enforcement officers to have the authority to detain, interrogate, and fingerprint citizens without having to provide the basis for doing so?!?!?! Doesn't anyone here see a problem of letting any agency operate without accountability?? Am I in the Twilight Zone?!?
"It made pretty clear (and I paraphrase here) that they reserved the right to detain and search anyone they might have doubts about or have reason to suspect. "
The Customs and Border people do not have the power to decide that they will reserve the right to ANYTHING.
They have no rights, they have intructions and procedures, and their job is to follow them.
They do not simply decide what it is they are they are going to do, and to whom they are going to do it.
They overstepped their authority - and that is why the procedures have been changed.