Well, you know, with all that mad cow disease out there, we Ammurk'ns have to be careful about allowing contaminated Canadian dairy products into this great land of ours.bwaters said:
Safety first.
Hassled at the border.
- Thread starter Herb_The_Perb
- Start date
Safety first.
Here is a favorite post from another Forum on a guy's adventure at the border. I personally never had any problems with them, they are much more professional in my opinon than the Canadian ones.
As soon as you try to enter the states you give up ALL rights you have as a canadian. Sad as it is, read all you want about their laws and such, but nothing is going to help you!! A few years ago i took my female dog to a stud for breeding and the day after i decided to go pick some items up at my post box in blaine, nothing new i go down every few weeks. Well this time they had a dog at the crossing and as soon as he walked around the back of my truck he started going nuts!! They told me to pull over and so i did, before i could get two feet out of my yukon, i had four customs agents on me asking why the dog was barking at my truck. ?????? Beats me, so they take me inside and put me in a room and take my keys, wallet and everything i had in my pockets.
So after about 2 1/2 hours this guy comes in and say's were is it?? I was like were is what???? He starts telling me that they have highly trained dogs and this and that and the only thing that could come to mind was the fact that i had my female dog in the truck the day before and yeah she was in heat! The guy looks at me and say's "do you think I'm dumb" So by this point i'm pissed 2 1/2 hrs sitting in a room doing nothing, so i say to him that they've spent the last 2 1/2 hrs searching my truck and and have NOTHING! SO I said i think your dog might not be as highly trained as he thinks. So he throws my keys and stuff at me and say's i'm free to go. So i go out side and they have my truck sitting outside the X-ray machine and since the truck had'nt been wash in a few weeks you could tell were they ran the x-ray machine all over the truck. I open the door and the backsides of my seat are all unzipped and open, i open my back hatch and my lovely 2-15inch sub box is pretty much garbage now since they completely took it apart and left everything laying around. Damn bastards!!!
So pissed as i was, i get in and goto my mail box and pick up about 4 swords and about 3 daggers, I collect them and it's way cheaper getting them down south then up here. As i'm driving up to the truck crossing, which i just came through...about 10 customs officers rush my truck and a truck in front of me and pretty much pull us out and put us on the side of the road and start looking through my truck. The guy who was in front of me, turns to me and say's " man what cha hidding"? I turn to him and all of a sudden it made sense, they followed me to my postal box and since i came out with these packages they must of thought something????
So to make a long story abit shorter, i spent another 2 hrs in the same damn room untill the guy came in with one of the daggers in his hand and one of the swords and starts yelling at me about how i could go to jail for trying to import dangerous weapons into canada, then he states that he's going over to canada customs and going to give them the evidence and they will deal with me. So they again say i'm free to go. I walk up to my truck and open the door and all this foam packing from the boxes the swords and that were in, starts falling out. So i look in the back and they opened every box and dumped everything all over the place. then to make matters worse my back seat is down so i go to put it up and low and behold the dumbass's put the seat right down on some of the daggers and as i'm pulling the seat up, two of the daggers are sticking out of my seat! F*CKERS!!!! I go back in and say i wanna talk with someone in charge about it, JOY the same guy comes up and say's what's the problem??? So i nicely explain to him what has happened and he pretty much laughed and told me if i had a problem i could contact this number and if i'm lucky someone might call me back?????
So I go get in my truck and the last thing i wanna do is now deal with the whole dangerous weapons thing with the canada side, so i pull up and start to explain myself and the guy say's he knows all about it and that i'm going to have to go inside. Great now what?? I walk up to this one guy and right off the bat he say's "your the one with the swords and daggers", so i'm like yah, what going to happen? He turns to me and asks what the value is and i give him the receipts and he comes back with the swords and dagger and say's that will be $35 cdn for duty! ??????? WTF? So i explain to him the the US customs had yelled at me for 20 min telling me how i might be going to jail because of them. The canadian customs guy starts laughing and say's it's not like you have drugs or machine guns, all the items are legal. And i said i know they sell the damn things at house of knives. So if you find yourselve in the same situation their is nothing you can do!! Someone posted that you have the right to be by your car when they search it...........guess again NOT!!! Maybe the canadian side, but when it comes to the US side, you pretty much give up all your rights when you pull up to the crossing.
I guess the only positive thing that came out of the day was that i did'nt see the latex gloves!!!Hehe. The second time i got pulled over i thought for sure it was coming, and the funny thing was that the only thing going through my mind was shitting on the guy before he tried! hehe. I've been going down for 15years and this is about the worst i've ever had it, but it just really makes you think when it does happen. With nothing to hide, it still makes you feel like a criminal. I was going to take legal action about it, but what is the best thing i'll get out of it.............A stupid letter that say's "SORRY"?????
Just remember to be nice untill they say your free to go! Here's a example for you: Halloween just passed and most of us had some sort of fireworks in are car, going from here to their and whatever else....... You pull up to the American crossing and a bomb sniffing dog is smelling something from your car.........eg: fireworks. You could find yourself sitting in a room for hrs & hrs & hrs trying to explain why this dog likes your car or truck. And the joyfull part is "NO" they don't have to give you one phone call, like in the movies, and NO you have no rights at all!! Say HELLO to Homeland security! If anyone wants a free vacation to cuba, just don't say shit and tell them how F*cked they are with raping canada of it resources! hehe.
Not all things are bad, went across today without a problem. It's just something that always sits in the back of your mind! Well that's my 4 cents on the matter.
As soon as you try to enter the states you give up ALL rights you have as a canadian. Sad as it is, read all you want about their laws and such, but nothing is going to help you!! A few years ago i took my female dog to a stud for breeding and the day after i decided to go pick some items up at my post box in blaine, nothing new i go down every few weeks. Well this time they had a dog at the crossing and as soon as he walked around the back of my truck he started going nuts!! They told me to pull over and so i did, before i could get two feet out of my yukon, i had four customs agents on me asking why the dog was barking at my truck. ?????? Beats me, so they take me inside and put me in a room and take my keys, wallet and everything i had in my pockets.
So after about 2 1/2 hours this guy comes in and say's were is it?? I was like were is what???? He starts telling me that they have highly trained dogs and this and that and the only thing that could come to mind was the fact that i had my female dog in the truck the day before and yeah she was in heat! The guy looks at me and say's "do you think I'm dumb" So by this point i'm pissed 2 1/2 hrs sitting in a room doing nothing, so i say to him that they've spent the last 2 1/2 hrs searching my truck and and have NOTHING! SO I said i think your dog might not be as highly trained as he thinks. So he throws my keys and stuff at me and say's i'm free to go. So i go out side and they have my truck sitting outside the X-ray machine and since the truck had'nt been wash in a few weeks you could tell were they ran the x-ray machine all over the truck. I open the door and the backsides of my seat are all unzipped and open, i open my back hatch and my lovely 2-15inch sub box is pretty much garbage now since they completely took it apart and left everything laying around. Damn bastards!!!
So pissed as i was, i get in and goto my mail box and pick up about 4 swords and about 3 daggers, I collect them and it's way cheaper getting them down south then up here. As i'm driving up to the truck crossing, which i just came through...about 10 customs officers rush my truck and a truck in front of me and pretty much pull us out and put us on the side of the road and start looking through my truck. The guy who was in front of me, turns to me and say's " man what cha hidding"? I turn to him and all of a sudden it made sense, they followed me to my postal box and since i came out with these packages they must of thought something????
So to make a long story abit shorter, i spent another 2 hrs in the same damn room untill the guy came in with one of the daggers in his hand and one of the swords and starts yelling at me about how i could go to jail for trying to import dangerous weapons into canada, then he states that he's going over to canada customs and going to give them the evidence and they will deal with me. So they again say i'm free to go. I walk up to my truck and open the door and all this foam packing from the boxes the swords and that were in, starts falling out. So i look in the back and they opened every box and dumped everything all over the place. then to make matters worse my back seat is down so i go to put it up and low and behold the dumbass's put the seat right down on some of the daggers and as i'm pulling the seat up, two of the daggers are sticking out of my seat! F*CKERS!!!! I go back in and say i wanna talk with someone in charge about it, JOY the same guy comes up and say's what's the problem??? So i nicely explain to him what has happened and he pretty much laughed and told me if i had a problem i could contact this number and if i'm lucky someone might call me back?????
So I go get in my truck and the last thing i wanna do is now deal with the whole dangerous weapons thing with the canada side, so i pull up and start to explain myself and the guy say's he knows all about it and that i'm going to have to go inside. Great now what?? I walk up to this one guy and right off the bat he say's "your the one with the swords and daggers", so i'm like yah, what going to happen? He turns to me and asks what the value is and i give him the receipts and he comes back with the swords and dagger and say's that will be $35 cdn for duty! ??????? WTF? So i explain to him the the US customs had yelled at me for 20 min telling me how i might be going to jail because of them. The canadian customs guy starts laughing and say's it's not like you have drugs or machine guns, all the items are legal. And i said i know they sell the damn things at house of knives. So if you find yourselve in the same situation their is nothing you can do!! Someone posted that you have the right to be by your car when they search it...........guess again NOT!!! Maybe the canadian side, but when it comes to the US side, you pretty much give up all your rights when you pull up to the crossing.
I guess the only positive thing that came out of the day was that i did'nt see the latex gloves!!!Hehe. The second time i got pulled over i thought for sure it was coming, and the funny thing was that the only thing going through my mind was shitting on the guy before he tried! hehe. I've been going down for 15years and this is about the worst i've ever had it, but it just really makes you think when it does happen. With nothing to hide, it still makes you feel like a criminal. I was going to take legal action about it, but what is the best thing i'll get out of it.............A stupid letter that say's "SORRY"?????
Just remember to be nice untill they say your free to go! Here's a example for you: Halloween just passed and most of us had some sort of fireworks in are car, going from here to their and whatever else....... You pull up to the American crossing and a bomb sniffing dog is smelling something from your car.........eg: fireworks. You could find yourself sitting in a room for hrs & hrs & hrs trying to explain why this dog likes your car or truck. And the joyfull part is "NO" they don't have to give you one phone call, like in the movies, and NO you have no rights at all!! Say HELLO to Homeland security! If anyone wants a free vacation to cuba, just don't say shit and tell them how F*cked they are with raping canada of it resources! hehe.
Not all things are bad, went across today without a problem. It's just something that always sits in the back of your mind! Well that's my 4 cents on the matter.
Never, ever, EVER say the word "Internet" or "Online" or "science fiction convention" to a U.S. border guard. In Yankee, all of the above translate to "Please ask me intimate questions and search my car from stem to stern."
That was my experience last time going down through the Sumas crossing. I think she was having a bad day or something. Coming back through Blaine went much more smoothly. I waved my passport at the guy, he ignored it, asked me how long I'd been gone, what I'd bougth and said "have a nice day."
That was my experience last time going down through the Sumas crossing. I think she was having a bad day or something. Coming back through Blaine went much more smoothly. I waved my passport at the guy, he ignored it, asked me how long I'd been gone, what I'd bougth and said "have a nice day."
As a former summer Customs officer (Canadian), I would add:Maury Beniowski said:
13. Take off sunglasses, so they can see your eyes.
14. It doesn't hurt to start out with a polite greeting (e.g. 'good afternoon") but otherwise it's best to respond to questions, rather than to try to initiate any discussions.
15. Do not, under any circumstances, try to answer the questions before they are asked.
My buddy had an old restored Mustang worth about 30 K + mint condition... border agents didnt believe his story that he was golfing on Vancouver
Island.
Make a long story short, after 1 hr + in the detention room he was free to go. His suprise the dogs had been all over his hood and scratched the shit out of his car.
He demanded an explanation, they did not give him the time of day. (He lives in Washingto State). He makes a few calls to immigration, they dontsay sorry but tell him to get it re-painted and send in bill. Sure enough he did and they paid for repair with no explanation, just a cheque from US Border thats it.
He was ok ... but they need some neutra rights in these areas.. let the agents be ass's but atleast have a basic code of rights for public..
Island.
Make a long story short, after 1 hr + in the detention room he was free to go. His suprise the dogs had been all over his hood and scratched the shit out of his car.
He demanded an explanation, they did not give him the time of day. (He lives in Washingto State). He makes a few calls to immigration, they dontsay sorry but tell him to get it re-painted and send in bill. Sure enough he did and they paid for repair with no explanation, just a cheque from US Border thats it.
He was ok ... but they need some neutra rights in these areas.. let the agents be ass's but atleast have a basic code of rights for public..
I can relate to that
The only times I have been held back or asked more questions was from a non-caucasian and the women officers. One lady officer had a super nice back side as she thouroughly searches my trunk for like 15 minutes. Nice little treat. Men officers just let me go, no worries.
The only times I have been held back or asked more questions was from a non-caucasian and the women officers. One lady officer had a super nice back side as she thouroughly searches my trunk for like 15 minutes. Nice little treat. Men officers just let me go, no worries.
