(Boylove News Articles) - Homeland Security's Assault on Travel: Difference between revisions
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Regardless of the outcome of the International Megan's Law bill now in the U.S. Senate, sex offenders will, undoubtedly, continue to be treated worse than virtually any other traveler (except for, possibly, journalists) as they have been for more than a dozen years. [See: DEAD END: The International Megan's Law's Assault on Everyone's Freedom of Travel] | Regardless of the outcome of the International Megan's Law bill now in the U.S. Senate, sex offenders will, undoubtedly, continue to be treated worse than virtually any other traveler (except for, possibly, journalists) as they have been for more than a dozen years. [See: DEAD END: The International Megan's Law's Assault on Everyone's Freedom of Travel] | ||
U.S. citizenship offers no assurance to anyone that they will pass unmolested through this area which is the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pre-clearance hall (just after baggage-claim) found in every international airport in America but you can bet that, for the sex offender, their treatment is often very much worse. | U.S. citizenship offers no assurance to anyone that they will pass unmolested through this area which is the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pre-clearance hall (just after baggage-claim) found in every international airport in America but you can bet that, for the sex offender, their treatment is often very much worse. <ref>The few rights that are afforded to Americans and visitors alike at U.S. ports of entry are by far outweighed by the authority of the border officials.“ “Welcome to the United States: Discriminated, detained, searched, interrogated” ZDNET, August 31, 2013 http://www.zdnet.com/discriminated-detained-searched-interrogated-at-the-united-states-border-7000020045</ref> | ||
An American sex offender traveling on business can return to the U.S. on a direct flight (at least half of whose occupants were nationals of that flight's country of origin) from a country whose inhabitants are overwhelmingly, if not almost exclusively, Muslim (as has happened) and with established networks of Islamic terrorists, either Al Qaeda or those closely allied with Al Qaeda, during a peak terror watch level (the color code having been declared “Red”), and be reasonably confident that he (and it's almost always a “he”) will be the last person to leave the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol secondary inspection area, out of all of the travelers from that flight. | An American sex offender traveling on business can return to the U.S. on a direct flight (at least half of whose occupants were nationals of that flight's country of origin) from a country whose inhabitants are overwhelmingly, if not almost exclusively, Muslim (as has happened) and with established networks of Islamic terrorists, either Al Qaeda or those closely allied with Al Qaeda, during a peak terror watch level (the color code having been declared “Red”), and be reasonably confident that he (and it's almost always a “he”) will be the last person to leave the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol secondary inspection area, out of all of the travelers from that flight. | ||
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It is with considerably greater dread which many travelers contemplate their return to the U.S., knowing they will face a far scarier gauntlet erected by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. For many of them, the necessity of travel for holiday, to visit family or friends or to conduct business, must now be weighed against a dread which will greatly diminish what would otherwise be an entirely joyful reunion or a productive series of meetings. | It is with considerably greater dread which many travelers contemplate their return to the U.S., knowing they will face a far scarier gauntlet erected by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. For many of them, the necessity of travel for holiday, to visit family or friends or to conduct business, must now be weighed against a dread which will greatly diminish what would otherwise be an entirely joyful reunion or a productive series of meetings. | ||
As a result, many have opted to greatly curtail their trips abroad. Some have simply stopped traveling, altogether. | As a result, many have opted to greatly curtail their trips abroad. Some have simply stopped traveling, altogether. | ||
The aggravations posed by the TSA, which affects more domestic travelers than international, have received far greater attention than the more frightening threats posed by DHS's CBP or its investigative arm, ICE, when one is caught in its “nearly constitution-free” zone. One might liken this zone to a “sally port” of the type found at the entrance to prisons where one is allowed to go neither forward nor backward without having first satisfied all of ones captor's demands. When there, and despite that it is entirely contained within the United States, rights are precious and few. Without permission, you are not free to go about your business. | The aggravations posed by the TSA, which affects more domestic travelers than international, have received far greater attention than the more frightening threats posed by DHS's CBP or its investigative arm, ICE, when one is caught in its “nearly constitution-free” zone. One might liken this zone to a “sally port” of the type found at the entrance to prisons where one is allowed to go neither forward nor backward without having first satisfied all of ones captor's demands. When there, and despite that it is entirely contained within the United States, rights are precious and few. Without permission, you are not free to go about your business.<ref>DHS Travel Screening Measures: https://www.eff.org/issues/travel-screening</ref> | ||
Within this zone, thousands of American citizens have had their computers, cellphones, iPads, digital cameras, memory sticks and hard drives routinely seized and all of the information contained within them forensically scrutinized copied and, presumably, shared with other government agencies. Many of those Americans are registered sex offenders. | Within this zone, thousands of American citizens have had their computers, cellphones, iPads, digital cameras, memory sticks and hard drives routinely seized and all of the information contained within them forensically scrutinized copied and, presumably, shared with other government agencies. Many of those Americans are registered sex offenders. | ||
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Sex offenders, however, are specifically excluded from even this mild limitation. Federal Judge Edward Korman makes clear that sex offenders, by their very status and existence, continuously (and forever) provide sufficient reasonable suspicion that forfeits their rights in this regard. | Sex offenders, however, are specifically excluded from even this mild limitation. Federal Judge Edward Korman makes clear that sex offenders, by their very status and existence, continuously (and forever) provide sufficient reasonable suspicion that forfeits their rights in this regard. | ||
All of the myriad details of ones life, if a sex offender, are now claimed by the United States government - and actionable in all ways it might exploit - when they step into the magical DHS zone, a zone in which the Fourth Amendment, at a minimum, nearly ceases to exist. | All of the myriad details of ones life, if a sex offender, are now claimed by the United States government - and actionable in all ways it might exploit - when they step into the magical DHS zone, a zone in which the Fourth Amendment, at a minimum, nearly ceases to exist. <ref>Eastern District of New York Judge Edward R. Korman dismisses plaintiff action brought by NACDL and ACLU against DHS, December 31, 2013 https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/10cv4059mo12312013.pdf</ref> | ||
While being questioned in that zone, you are not informed of your Miranda Rights because, frankly, the agents don't have to. Yet anything you say to them can be used in a court of law to convict you. Innocent, even completely inconsequential, misstatements can result in serious criminal penalties for providing “false reports” to law enforcement. | While being questioned in that zone, you are not informed of your Miranda Rights because, frankly, the agents don't have to. Yet anything you say to them can be used in a court of law to convict you. Innocent, even completely inconsequential, misstatements can result in serious criminal penalties for providing “false reports” to law enforcement. <ref> Immigrants Deserve Basic Miranda-Like Warnings When Arrested - http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/02/28/immigrants-deserve-basic-miranda-like-warnings-when-arrested</ref> | ||
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Revision as of 15:28, 29 June 2014
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