Meeting an ATS Friend - Crossing the border from Canada to the USA - I've never been so hassled

So I braved the border today -

I journeyed across the sacred rainbow bridge which separates the 2 beautiful nations at Niagara Falls ON/NY. The following is a sad tale of just how unbelievable this journey has become.

It all began with a pleasant hour and 20 minute drive through the countryside, passing through wine country beside the great lakes - I came into the final stretch of the border, the wait wasn't long, maybe 5 minutes, as I pulled up, a tall man stepped out and eyed me harshly as I approached, he reminded me of mexican military in between the border of Jalisco in western mexico.

The conversation went roughly as follows,

Guard "Passport - What are you doing here today"

Gradius "Im having lunch at the hard rock cafe"

Guard "Where do you live"

Gradius "Vancouver BC, but I'm staying in Hamilton for now"

Guard (Long pause) "Why did you come here?"

Gradius "Im visiting family, and came to visit a friend"

Guard "Who does this car belong to"

Gradius "My mothers, im driving it for the day while im away from home"

Guard "Show me your license, registration and insurrance"

Gradius "No problem"

Guard "Who are you doing to see"

Gradius "My friend, John Smith (Privacy)"

Guard "How long have you known this friend and where do they live"

Gradius "About a year, im not sure where he lives, we havent met yet"

Guard "You havent MET this friend yet?"

Gradius "No, we know eachother from internet discussions"

Guard "You've NEVER met this person except from speaking with them on the INTERNET, Give me your keys"

(At this point he became very aggressive - I gave him my keys)

Gradius "Never met them, and yes, we've spoken in great length over the internet, just like I've done with many of my clients who I work with and rarely meet"

Guard "Hang on"

(At this point, 4 military dressed men walk over and 'tell' me to step out of the car)

They surround me, and one man asks if I'm carrying any weapons, firearms, knives, ect.

Gradius: I have a leatherman multitool in my pocket

(They all go alert)

Guard #1: DONT TOUCH IT!! let this man get it from you.

Gradius: Okay....No problem, its in this pocket (I had very deep 5 inch pockets)

Guard #3: (He struggles to remove it, sort of man handling my crotch area and then he gives up trying to reach)

Guard#2 Just let him take it out himself, (as he has a hand on his gun)

(I remove the leatherman multi tool, and very carefully give it to them with open palms, I'm sooo dangerous)

I am then escorted to a room filled with 4 armed guards, and told to sit down and wait, they proceed to rip apart the car and examine every nook and cranny, every square inch is sniffed by dogs and examined by 2 guards.

after about a half hour I'm shouted at from the back of the quarantine room.

Guard: Hey Boss, Come get your papers,

I take my papers, and they say "You can go now". I return to the car in shambles, things moved around and jossled, the contents of the dash emptied onto the seats, change spilled out onto the floor from my jacket pockets.

Going out for lunch in the USA was never such a big deal.

Apparently now - Its almost criminal - Or at least suspected of such.

I certainly felt like a criminal

How did it come to this?

-GM

wow sounds worse than the border patrol check points in s tx. we usually just get asked, are you a us citizen, where are you coming from and where your going. the drugs dogs are out but if they dont bark, you just get waved through. sounds rough at the canadian border.

WOW! :O

That is nuts! I would have been freaked out!

They questioned you because you didn't know this person, yet you do know this person. Just because you havent met doesn't mean you don't know them!

Im sorry you were treated this way here.

your story is very flimsy sounding in a way. in essence, you can't name the person you are going to meet.

I'd say next time, get a real name so you don't have to say you are meeting "extreme reptilian hunter"

they probably had you pegged as a drug mule

Sounds pretty crazy but it's not exactly "normal" to meet a "friend you never met in person, but talk to on the internet" My guess is the guards thought you were a weirdo and decided they better be safe than sorry.

You also quoted yourself as saying you were from BC (what are you doing driving to the hard rock cafe for lunch in your mom's car if you're from BC? last time I checked BC was on the other side of the country, above Seattle Washington)

It does suck that they have to be so paranoid about everything these days, but that's not their fault, that's what they're being paid to stand out there all day doing. In other words, if something happens it comes back to them and they're screwed.

Welcome to reality.

reply to post by syrinx high priest


I gave the name - but I'm not posting it on ATS for privacy reasons,

They had all the information they needed - They didnt like that I was in a borrowed car, from a far away province, meeting someone from the internet, and just coming for a few hours.

They were over the top - Welcome to the police state.

I would have danced - but I didnt want to get body slammed.

-GM

Thank God you didn't mention that you met your friend thru ATS! They'd probably still have you in lockup! GULP

reply to post by Gradius Maximus


It might not be a good idea to refer to yourself as the "wizard of the trees" either

Just sayin'

reply to post by Time2Think


that would be so awesome " yes officer i am the wizard of the trees, and i am here to visit the goddess of the rock salt" lol.. please video that if you say it.

reply to post by Gradius Maximus

I have relatives in Toronto and we travel to Canada every year. Most of the time it's hassle free, but the last time my family went we got hassled. They asked us some really stupid questions like the ones you experienced. One of the questions they asked was what are you planning on doing during your stay. I said probably go shopping. She said where? (I didn't have anything planned so I said the mall). Than she said "what store are you planning on going to?" I looked at my wife and she looked at me and we both started laughing. I looked at her and I said "I have no idea what store or stores I plan on shopping at." She got really pissed and kept threatening to have us pull over and check our van. She finally let us go, but the wife and I really thought it was really ridiculous. Just thought I would let you know, it happens both ways.

They are probably trying to catch people in a lie with those unending strings of questions - If you dig deep enough the person will slip if it is not the absolute truth - This is why I do not lie at the border - because if they catch you doing it - they can turn us away, they have the power of gods at the border.

The merciful gods have become the vengeful gods.

"Pegged" as a drug mule? Thats pretty offensive.

I could have said anything, I could have lied and said I was going by myself to see the American side of the falls, would that have been less strange then meeting an ATS friend?

There is a sickness brewing, and it is ugly.

reply to post by Gradius Maximus

As a Canadian, I have to say I feel for you! A pregnant friend of mine went to go shopping across the border for baby needs and they DISASSEMBLED her car on the way back! She declared everything, provided receipts and when they let her go they said they were not responsible for putting her car back together. They said they weren't mechanics, she had to call her aunt to bail her out with a flat-bed tow truck!

She called a lawyer and border law says they can strip search your car and are not responsible for loss or damages. That's a "do-what-I-want-and-get-away-with-it Badge"!

Moral of the story, it sucks when honest folk are being harassed when they have long hair or beards, it sucks when people are being harassed and GRILLED when taking their family on vacation.. it even sucks that you're suspicious when you mention you're meeting a friend-not-yet-met, but it TAKES the cake when they can destroy your things without probable cause and not be held responsible.

~Shakes Head~ Tax payer's dollars at work, right there!

reply to post by WeRpeons


Yes, one of the best ways to meet such stupidness and "none of your business"ish is to laugh at how stupid and none of their business it is. What store are you planning on going to? Jeez, these guys really should just ease up on people and they won't have the feedback that they are receiving from Alex Jones and others. Try some respect and equalness, it actually works in the long run.

Originally posted by Gradius Maximus
reply to post by syrinx high priest

 

I gave the name - but I'm not posting it on ATS for privacy reasons,

They had all the information they needed - They didnt like that I was in a borrowed car, from a far away province, meeting someone from the internet, and just coming for a few hours.

They were over the top - Welcome to the police state.

I would have danced - but I didnt want to get body slammed.

-GM

oh, ok, I must have missed that part. yeah, I have to say I went to school in rochester in the 80's, we used to go to the bars in canada, and I have to say I don't remember being asked more than 2 or 3 questions.

I also remember having a curfew of "when it gets dark" when I was 7 years old. I'd ride my bike 2 miles to the gas station to buy baseball cards and pixie sticks.

we just don't live in that world anymore. really sad

reply to post by Gradius Maximus


Guard "How long have you known this friend and where do they live"

Gradius "About a year, im not sure where he lives, we havent met yet"

Guard "You havent MET this friend yet?"

Gradius "No, we know eachother from internet discussions"






You got what you gave - ignorance...out of all the answers you could have given, you chose the ones that made it most difficult - kinda like you wanted the hassle.


Well, bad decisions aside, what did you have for lunch..?

Having lived in NY as a child and crossing in Canada over the Peace Bridge and Rainbow Bridge many, many times, I can tell you how it used to be.

Guard: Citizenship?
Us: U.S.
Guard: How long were you in Canada?
Us: A couple hours.
Guard: Anything to declare?
Us: No.
Guard: Go ahead.

Getting into Canada always seemed harder than getting back to the States.

Canada Customs: Citizenship?
Us: U.S.
Canada Customs: What city were you born in?
Us: Rochester.
Canada Customs: Reason for entering Canada?
Us: Visiting relatives in Crystal Beach.
Canada Customs: How long will you be staying in Canada?
Us: A couple of hours.
Canada Customs: Do you have anything to declare?
Us: No.
Canada Customs: Would you open your trunk?
Us: Sure, no problem.
Canada Customs: OK, let me take a look inside your vehicle.
Us: Sure, no problem.
Canada Customs: Enjoy your stay.

Now that DHS has their grubby little paws into Customs and Border Patrol I've heard some real horror stories from my friends about getting back into the U.S. It seems that we are all potential terrorist now and must be treated like cattle.

I know I won't be flying anywhere or traveling to Mexico or Canada until those "Papers, please" nazis at the border and airport checkpoints drop dead.

I'm sorry that our servants are not representing our wishes any longer. Eventually we hope to bring peace & tranquility back to America, but for the moment it is not so.

All I can suggest is to tell them what they want to hear even if it is not the exact truth. As long as they see what they want to see & hear what they want to hear they will wave you along. You need to program them as you see fit to get the results you want. They don't think, they follow their training.

Just like they train & practice, you need to do the same.

Originally posted by facelift
reply to post by Gradius Maximus

 

Guard "How long have you known this friend and where do they live"

Gradius "About a year, im not sure where he lives, we havent met yet"

Guard "You havent MET this friend yet?"

Gradius "No, we know eachother from internet discussions"

You got what you gave - ignorance...out of all the answers you could have given, you chose the ones that made it most difficult - kinda like you wanted the hassle.


Well, bad decisions aside, what did you have for lunch..?

I had a nice cheeseburger - It was great - you folks have good beef.

I gave all information to the best of my ability - Shouldnt that be enough?

You're allowed to speak with strangers on the internet, but meeting with them is cause for concern?

Not to mention telling the border guards that just makes them think all sorts of horrible possibilities.

Oh my goodness, what if these men are consorting terror plots.

Honesty gets you no where, lies get you no where - The world is now officially insane.

-GM

I would swear there was a thread about Canadian border crackdowns on ATS about a week ago now....

My aunt went to Canada a few years ago (American) to visit her husband (Canadian) (who went back and his visa had run out and could not get back into U.S.) It took her around 8 months to finally get back into the U.S. -without her car as they confiscated it, and without her husband.
It all did not make sense to me since she was American he was married to an American. It still doens't make sense to me. He finally did make it back to the U.S. though.

I recently went to Pittsburgh two weeks ago from Hamilton to meet a fellow ATSer. When asked why I was going, I told them I was going to see my girlfriend. He gave me a wink and said be gone lol. First time in years I've crossed the border, so I guess I'm sorry for your experience. It probably had everything to do with your circumstances for crossing.

Nothing wrong with it, but just the circumstances. At least they didn't turn you back.

ETA: I have been hassled at the border in the past, so I understand your frustration.