
I Was a U.S. Diplomat. Customs and Border Protection Only Cared That I Was Black - johnny313
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/30/black-us-diplomat-customs-border-protection-cbp-detained-harassed-325676
======
phobosanomaly
This is my own personal experience, and who knows maybe it's not at all the
experience of others.

I used to cross at San Ysidro frequently, and would get pulled into secondary
maybe 1/4 of the time. This is extremely common if you're crossing the land
border alone, and you don't 'look Mexican.'

Even if you don't get pulled into secondary, they're extremely unpleasant to
deal with.

I don't think I ever came across a border patrol agent during that time who
didn't appear to be actively going out of their way to be mean. They don't
even pretend to be welcoming or polite. They are there to make you feel small
and under pressure, and in that process they are looking for any excuse to
pull you into secondary. They know that you have zero power in that situation.
Just try using the bathroom after sitting in the border line for 3 hours and
then getting pulled into secondary and sitting in your car for an hour waiting
for them to show up with a drug dog.

The Mexicans will sort of do something similar. I've been flagged by their
secondary before, but they are always extremely polite. Even the soldiers in
fatigues with FALs are pretty nice guys in my experience.

I think there is something in the training and recruitment of US CBP that is
incredibly broken. As an American, everytime I cross the border back into my
own country I am deeply ashamed.

~~~
rudiv
I crossed the border at San Ysidro on foot a couple times when living in San
Diego. I found it entirely predictable that the CBP 'cops' were generally rude
and off-putting. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Mexican military
officers were not constantly scowling and didn't point their weapons at me
when I accidentally took a left into their facility instead of turning right
to walk onto the streets of Tijuana (they tried Spanish first, presumably
because I'm brown, but then asked me politely in English to turn around and go
the other way).

The only thing that _really_ surprised me was that my friend was able to
return to the United States without any documentation after losing his wallet.
Then again, he was a white kid with a Louisville accent. Like he said, "Not a
hard decision for them which side of the border I should be on". I was scared
shitless of losing my passport and I-20 the whole time I was there, being a
non-citizen.

I found the Mexican officers' demeanor to be similar to the German federal
officers one sees in German airports; not constantly smiling (except perhaps
at children), but if you cross glance with them they'll usually smile &
acknowledge you. Also as with most people surrounded by foreigners they'll
definitely smile if you say something nice in their language.

~~~
vidanay
I have been in airports and customs from China to Germany and pretty much only
in the United States are the security personnel (generic term) looking like
they have a hot pepper up their ass.

------
lawnchair_larry
Is there a reason to doubt the official explanation of a name collision? This
is not uncommon.

A case of someone getting even worse treatment, including strip searches. He
was white.

[https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2010/10/08/acton_man_repe...](https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2010/10/08/acton_man_repeatedly_mistaken_for_convict_with_same_name.html)

A white woman sharing a name with a black male convict even had issues:

[https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Technology-issue-
at-...](https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Technology-issue-at-border-
results-in-mistaken-572632.php)

There is often a common theme reported in these experiences. Customs cannot
seem to properly “remove” flagged individuals. Or if they do, something keeps
re-adding them. It sounds like many different source databases synchronize
with each other and it’s difficult to prevent bad data from being
reintroduced.

~~~
HarryHirsch
_Is there a reason to doubt the official explanation of a name collision?_

The fact that the saga went on for months at the same border post despite
complaints?

People like to distinguish between incompetence and malice but there is not
much point in it; in either case the outcome shows that people in charge are
not capable of performing their duty and should be relieved.

~~~
0xcde4c3db
Also, what's the point of SENTRI if not to obtain a more reliable and detailed
database entry? Shouldn't that information somehow take precedence over a too-
broad query of some other database?

Even if the official explanation is true as far as it goes, _something_ is
seriously broken here.

~~~
foogazi
Exactly- with Sentri you have an id number that has your personal and vehicle
info

How would the automated system scan the card, the face and the license plates
and then do a name lookup?

------
squibbles
From what the author wrote, it seems likely she was flagged as a person of
interest. Perhaps her name was similar or identical to an alias used by
someone else, or perhaps she looked very similar to someone on a watchlist.
Automated systems can exasperate the problem of persecuting the innocent. For
anyone who thinks they are able to make an automated system for law
enforcement that does not provide false positives, I strongly recommend you
think twice.

For anyone interested, the author has a gofundme page. [0]

[0] [https://www.gofundme.com/f/A-Love-Letter-To-Durham-North-
Car...](https://www.gofundme.com/f/A-Love-Letter-To-Durham-North-Carolina)

~~~
dwd
That doesn't explain being pulled over before they have checked her documents
unless they are using a licence plate scanner to ID her beforehand. Doesn't
sound likely due to the questions about whether it is her car - or those
questions are therefore blatent harrassment.

I'd recommend Gladwell's last book 'Talking to Strangers' about how
preconceptions and cognitive biases shape our interactions and how things can
quickly derail as a result. You could put a spin on their motives that it is a
prejudgement of her as a person of interest - but that then becomes an issue
of individual training or a systemic failure in the whole force to not let
that happen.

~~~
ncmncm
I would never recommend a book by Gladwell, anymore, since I learned more
about him. "I don't write about what's true, I write about what's
interesting."

~~~
dwd
That is unfortunately the case for most journalism and even scholarly
research.

If you treat much of what he writes as anecdotal fluff pieces you won't be
disappointed.

------
sys_64738
CBP are the most unfriendliest border agents I've ever had the misfortune of
dealing with. Contrast that with the likes of Canadian and Irish border people
who are outstanding I'm my experience.

~~~
throwaway9d0291
It's not just the agents, as a foreigner, it's CBP as a whole.

I lived in the US for 3 years on an E-3 visa (like a weird H1B that's only for
Australians). I wasn't eligible for any of the expedited entry procedures like
Global Entry since I was an Australian without a green card.

The journey starts in the foreign airport. Did you know that the US has its
own security in many foreign airports? After you've already been through the
airport's own security and are waiting at the gate, just prior to or even
during boarding, the US can have you pulled aside and searched thoroughly once
more. They'll make you take off your shoes, jackets, go over you with a wand,
unpack all of your carry-on luggage on a table and then make you pack it
again. This happened to me on 3/4 international flights returning back to the
US from Europe (France, Germany).

Then, once I arrived in the US, I had to go through the "foreigner that needs
to see a human" line. Have a look at the wait times for that line, as reported
by CBP [0]. I ran an average for October 2019 at SFO and the _average_ wait
time was 26 minutes but depending on when you arrived, it could be hours. In
my experience ~45 minutes was the norm (I chose unlucky arrival times I
suppose).

When you get to the human, they basically treat you like a criminal. They take
your fingerprints, make you look into a camera for biometrics and interrogate
you about why a foreign peasant deserves to enter the utopia that is America.
On each visit after renewing the visa, you also have to carry a massive pile
of documentation with you (documentation that was already submitted to the
State Department as part of the visa application).

And then, after immigration, you have to go through customs. Normally customs
isn't so bad but every now and then you can get pulled aside for a baggage
search. This means being told to stand in a line for easily an hour without
any indication of why, no access to food or drink and of course you can't use
your phone either.

I've travelled fairly widely and the US border really is the worst I've had
the misfortune of crossing. When I enter the US the whole CBP process gives a
sense of dread and makes me feel like a huge pile of weights is being dumped
on top of me. When I leave the US it's like I'm finally free and returned to
civilization. Even "oppressive" countries like Russia and Turkey feel better
than the US.

[0]: [https://awt.cbp.gov/](https://awt.cbp.gov/)

~~~
vidanay
I remember asking two police (military?) carrying machine guns at the Hong
Kong airport for directions to the train into the city. I don't even dare to
look a CBP agent in the eyes as I am passing them. (And I'm born and raised
American)

------
rich_sasha
Racism is awful and ubiquitous. What I find terrifying about America, and
stories like this, is that it is aimed at compatriots.

------
air7
> There were only a few consular officers of color in Juarez. They, too, had
> been pulled into secondary inspection a few times at the border, but CBP
> officers seemed to be more aggressive with me, probably because I had begun
> regularly to ask to speak to a manager whenever I was pulled to secondary
> inspection.

She might have just gotten on their "annoying-persons" list. If this was
indeed race driven than the other black officers would have a similar track
record and it would have made a much more damning post with their combined
experiences. The fact that she doesn't mention their stories leads me to
believe that her experience was much worse than the other black diplomats.

Be it incompetence (a recurring glitch in the computers) or malice (the guards
were harassing her personally) it doesn't seem to me to be clearly caused by
racism.

~~~
HarryHirsch
_She might have just gotten on their "annoying-persons" list_

This is the Juarez-El Paso border crossing, not a reenactment of "The
Comedians" with Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. First rule of government
interaction: if it can be used against them it can also be used against you.
Police shitlists should never be used as an explanation, rather they should
serve as a call for savage consequences.

------
glitchc
North America’s racist roots are showing. Perhaps it’s time for immigrants to
consider more welcoming destinations.

~~~
nborwankar
What about those of us who arrived decades ago are now settled with families
and children who were born here are proud to call ourselves American citizens?
We never imagined even 5 years ago an America like this and are questioning
our life choices.

~~~
qppo
America was like this five years ago too.

------
jokethrowaway
Tbh it's not that different in Europe. If you are dark skinned and it looks
like you may be part of the ethnic group that causes trouble around your area,
you will be stopped.

Since I was 16 I was asked for documents and pulled over so many times, it
wasn't even funny. I can't say I blame officers, though: I don't think
recognising patterns is racism. I'm more pissed at people that look like me
and contribute to the majority of crime.

I hate the police sarcasm and bad treatment though. I think it's too easy to
have unlimited money from the taxpayers' pocket without having to lift a
finger to actually fight crime.

I remember this one time, they stopped next to me in their car and just asked
in between laughs "so, which country would you be from?". I replied the name
of a small town nearby in the country's native accent and they immediately
went "ohh, sorry sorry" and left immediately to poke at someone else.
Apparently I wasn't part of their personal zoo of illegal immigrants to make
fun of and ignore.

That's probably the best argument I have for decriminalising victimless crimes
and not having all power centralised into a public police but split into
private entities with a Profits and Losses sheet.

------
BMSmnqXAE4yfe1
Car registered in NC, while living in Texas, is sufficiently suspicious, a
smuggler won't bother to change license plate.

------
justinclift
Sounds like installing a dashcam (or several) would have been useful here, for
better capturing the interactions.

------
BXLE_1-1-BitIs1
Best to be subservient and compliant in all dealings with CBP. My bet is that
the agents didn't like her attitude. Once that happens, it's time to find
another crossing and change your plate - that's the first thing the cameras
feed into the computer system. That might work better for the ordinary schmoo
than a special pass holder.

Living close to the border I cross often to pick up parcels. For some reason I
have yet to fathom, CBP often asks exactly what I'll be taking back to
Canada;so I tell them without asking why they are interested.

They have the power to make my life miserable, even bar me from the US where I
have family. I think it best to humour whatever bee they have in their bonnet
at the time. Mind you they may be following whatever directives are in effect
at the time. I've been questioned about certain items several times in a row
and then they come up with something else.

Canada customs is usually friendlier, but can get shirty every now and again.

------
masonic
Wouldn't having traveled extensively (non-employment travel) in both
hemispheres over the preceding two years get _anyone_ added scrutiny?

------
jdmg94
And that's on a US Government official, the ones who are not may end up in a
cage...

~~~
lawnchair_larry
No, that isn’t what is happening at all.

------
losingbraincell
read the whole article waiting for the reason they cared she was black, maybe
a smoking gun, felt like a detective piece.

was dissapointed

i guess its just an axiom to a ethnonarcissist

~~~
thomaslord
> read the whole article waiting for the reason they cared she was black

The reason they cared she was black is that they were racist... In one of the
interactions she documented, the CBP officer told her he knew "what drug
smugglers look like" and said "you know what I mean".

