"...At about 11 a.m., the train arrived at the U.S. border and made a routine stop. A team of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers boarded the train and advanced through each car, questioning passengers. Pascal had made this trip countless times before, so when a customs officer approached him, he didn’t give it a second thought...
...Where do you live, and why? Pascal answered that he lived in Canada. He lived in Canada because that’s where he was pursuing a PhD in Islamic Studies...
...But as Pascal walked past the train’s windows, he tried to show the passengers that he was cuffed. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and he wanted witnesses..." [Read More]
The Detention Cell
"...When they arrived at the Champlain Port of Entry, Pascal was put in a five-by-ten foot cell with cinder block walls and a steel-reinforced door. He was told to wait. He stayed in the cell for about an hour. Officers came in at random intervals to ask him questions...
...“They thought I was straight-up dangerous,” Pascal said...
...But the questions always came back to the same point – why Islamic Studies?“I want to be an academic – this is just what I happen to be an academic in,” Pascal told them...
...Finally, after about three hours in detention, he was released. But there was a catch – the CBP was keeping his laptop and hard drive..." [Read More]
Taking Legal Action
"...After being released from detention, Pascal hitched a ride on the next bus with an open seat that came through the checkpoint....
...Two days after his first phone call with the ACLU, Pascal was in downtown Manhattan, sitting in a meeting with a team of lawyers. The first thing they did was to write a letter to the CBP demanding that they return Pascal’s laptop..."
The Policy
"...In August 2009, the Department of Homeland Security enacted a policy that allows for the search and seizure of electronic devices at the border without reasonable suspicion. Under the policy, the DHS can detain any electronic device indefinitely, and copy and share the information it contains. Between October 1, 2008 and June 2, 2010, more than 6,500 people had their electronic devices searched at U.S. border stops..." [Read More]
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