Second, all aliens arriving at Ports-of-Entry are considered by law to be intending immigrants until the alien proves otherwise. That is the law and how CBP and the INS before it operated.

Third, DHS and CBP have no control over what an airline overseas requires of its passengers. To start out the story by blaming America first is foolish.

Fourth, CBP has the authority to search any arriving alien, including their computer. They have the authority to gather further evidence, such as can be found on their email, about their intentions in coming to the U.S.

Fifth, you would be surprised to learn that people lie to CBP officers.

Sixth, she did not have to surrrender that password. Surrendering the password showed evidence that she was not an intending immigrant.

Seventh, Thailand exports its women, either for marriage or work overseas. They are a source country for illegal immigration.

Eighth, again, CBP does more than look for terrorists, as a matter of fact, most of the illegal aliens they catch are not terrorists.

Nineth, having a visa is only a PERMIT to APPLY to enter the U.S., no matter how long the visa is valid for. Many Mexicans who immigrate illegally have ten year validity on their visas. It means nothing. CBP determines who is admitted to the U.S., not the State Department who issues visas, which are, again, only a permit to apply to enter the U.S.

Tenth, you people who complain about “rudeness” or “tough guy” obviously have never done the job of CBP Officer, or the legacy INS Immigration Inspector. Agressive questioning of aliens is a legal, moral and professional method of detecting fraud.

Eleventh, an Immigration Inspector was able to stop one of the 9/11 highjackers from entering the U.S. by being aggressive. It was those Inspectors who were not aggressive who are responsible for the others getting in.

Twelveth, you people only use 20/20 hindsight and the claim by Yon that nothing untword to U.S. immigration law was in the works. How do we know he was not just bringing his girlfriend to live with him or avoiding getting an immigration visa for a prospetive bride?

You people certainly turn liberal on a dime.

And don´t give me the old “there´s a war on” line. Just because a guy acts tough doesn´t mean he´s doing a good job. The government cannot even keep the terrorists at Guantanamo locked up but it can harrass tourists and professionals coming to the US? Reading her e-mails? What good did that do? This is just shameful.

Honest reporting about Iraq both on its successes and its failures is rare and totally unappreciated by many in DC and other government and political circles.

Whether its Congress, the Pentagon, the State Department, one of the Intel agencies, or just freinds of various folks in high places, Yon has made some serious enemies.

I suspect that under the new administration that not only Yon’s friends will find themsleves under the gun – maybe literally, but that Yon himself will find himself to be a target in every aspect that can be imagined. If Yon suddenly ends up dead or in some foreign jail, don’t be surprised.

Yon is a good man and as such he raises the ire of bad people who are easily inspired to make their displeasure known.

But wait!! Lord Messiah, the merciful and magnificent, Barack Obama wants to hire 600,000 MORE of these over officious jackasses to “stimulate” govt growth the economy.

yeah, just what we need. More buttheads working for a major butthead.

JP1986UM on January 6, 2009 at 12:38 PM

And we won’t even talk about it here or make any real objections to it… But heaven help us if one FOREIGN woman is delayed to keep my family safer… It’s WAR!

yeah, just what we need. More buttheads working for a major butthead.

Geez, no wonder we can’t win a war anymore, we have a Nation full of wussies and complainers…

If we put this much effort into killing the terrorist bastards as some of you limp wristed morons here on this thread did worrying about one idiot guard. We’d be a lot safer.

Some of you make me ill and NOT proud to be an American. For God’s sake, look at what our parents went thru during WWI & WWII… The sacrifices, the pains, gas lines, rationing, blackouts, shartages, REAL HARDSHIP!!! not this made up garbage because one poor unlucky Woman who just happens to be a friend of some folks at HotAirs friend had a bad day at our Airports…

Whoop-De-Frekin-Do!

No wonder we lose elections, our side is just as stupid as the far left…

“Due diligence” is one thing; being a rude, unprofessional, bullying a-hole is quite another. And too many of these low-rent TSA people fall into the latter category.

These are public servants. Regardless of how important their job is, it doesn’t excuse the boorish behavior and unnecessary, counterproductive practices that only serve to anger those they are there to protect.

A lot of these people (and particularly the supervisors) need a swift kick into the unemployment line. The world needs ditch diggers and mall security guards too.

Hollowpoint on January 5, 2009 at 9:31 PM

I’m just going by what Yon wrote, after subtracting the emotion. As Yon points out, there’s gotta be a tape/tapes somewhere — and the truth is on it. But just from the facts stated in Yon’s narrative, the agent did the right thing. “Counterproductive practices” are in the eye of the beholder. Again, had I been this agent, and presented with the facts Yon pointed out in the article, the woman would not have been admitted. In other words, I would have been a bigger a*hole in Yon’s estimation than the agent. I live in LA, one of the Thai slavery centers of the USA, and am perhaps just a little prejudiced by that fact.

And, if you get belligerent enough to ask for a supervisor, you are already in deep yogurt.

TSA: Does security checks on people wanting to board a flight originating in the US. Not involved at all in a flight originating overseas, other than defining rules for what can be carried aboard aircraft coming to the US. I get to deal extensively with them every time I want to board a flight due to my chrome-alloy steel prosthetic setting off their metal detectors.

State Department: Grants visas after vetting applicant and interviewing same. 10 year multi-entry visitor’s visas are not uncommon for citizens of friendly countries.

USCIS: Controls entry to the US and can deny entry to an individual who holds a valid visa from the State Department for any cause they consider appropriate. Mr. Knapp was probably a USCIS agent. USCIS agents also do the initial vetting of an applicant for immigration status before forwarding it to the State Department to grant a visa, as well as follow up monitoring of the immigrant and processing applications for citizenship.

USCBP: Controls what items/cargo enter the US. Responsible for detecting drugs, duty violations, etc. These are the agents who can confiscate your laptop if they consider it contain prohibitted material, such as child-porn.

Almost all the various individuals from these agencies I’ve dealt with have been courteous and professional. On rare occassions I’ve run into an individual who was on a power trip or didn’t know their own rules and regulations.

She’s got a passport bursting with world travels. These are not the marks of a terrorist. apollyonbob on January 5, 2009 at 3:28 PM

The 911 hijackers did a lot of documented traveling

She’s a woman! She’s Thai! These are not the marks of a terrorist.
apollyonbob on January 5, 2009 at 3:28 PM

Sounds like the perfect choice for a terrorist

Do searches under ‘beheadings in Thailand’ to read about the muslim insurgency in southern Thailand. Typical article about the second beheading in a month in the IHT

You may recall missionaries beheaded by muslim insurgents and the plot to blow up airplanes that was hatched in Thailand. Jemaah Islamiyah is said to have influence in southern thailand which has been under martial law on and off for years

As a naturalized citizen, and having seen the INS, Customs, and now HS up close, I can attest with great accuracy that 85% of all agents of these entities are complete douchebags.

• They revel in the “us vs. them” mentality.
• They hate their jobs
• They especially hate visitors to the US.
• They love to bully and intimidate.
• They are collectively a bunch of malignant mediocre unionized pricks one stepped removed from the UAW.

epluribusunum on January 5, 2009 at 11:43

Most agents of the FBI (and most US intelligence agencies besides the CIA) are extremely professional people.

But, yeah, immigration and Homeland Security are mainly douchebags. And the ones who work at airports are the worst. The only human being more irritating than a rent-a-cop is a glorified rent-a-cop. Giving those numbskulls federal badges was a travesty.

And it’s important to remember that the immature slugs who are ‘bullies’ to people when they know they can get away with it are the same people who will fold most readily under any kind of pressure. They don’t “treat all borders the same” at all; they’re actually MORE likely to be a-holes to clearly low-risk travelers than they would be when it comes to anyone who could potentially get them in trouble for ‘profiling’.

logis on January 5, 2009 at 1:30 PM

After 15 years of working closely with these people at MIA, I definitely concur. Only a small percentage (20%-25%)are competent and courteous. Things became worse after they all became one agency: Customs and Border Protection. Glorified rent a cops.
T.S.A. screeners are all wannabe cops that are always flashing their Homeland Security badges on the streets impersonating law enforcement officers.

I just heard a story from one of my coworkers of Mexican descent who is an American citizen where her minor daughter (also an American citizen) was harrassed by a TSA screener who asked her to lower her jeans and raise her shirt IN PUBLIC! Apparently the wand didn’t like the rivets in her jeans and the underwire in her bra.

This beligerent behavior continued until her mother stepped in and showed the agent the US passports and that she’s a minor. He finally let them on almost causing them to lose a flight.

In my opinion, she should file sexual battery charges against screener, file a complaint with the TSA and airport operations and contact her Senator and congressman.

That is totally unacceptable.

I also travel on business with my work laptop containing proprietary and corporate confidential information, including the potential of some of that data being covered by ITAR (arms and defense technology) regulations – my laptop doesn’t get turned on either.

And those searches were great fun. Those were for potential drugs I assume because I fit a profile. But of course, they don’t do profiles. And of course, they’ve done such a crack up job of keeping drugs out, I guess, you would have to say it was worth it.

Everytime I got through Minneapolis I wonder, for a while, if I am in Somalia.

James on January 5, 2009 at 3:23 PM

James: When you go through Minneapolis, you ARE in Somalia!

……..ask Al Franken if you don’t believe me!…

hmmmm….
Just spitballing here, but is it possible perhaps that Aew volunteered the password herself, to show the officer that her friend Michale Yon was a bigshot journalist… then told Yon a made-up tale of intimidation out of embarassment or whatever.

i’ve never heard of anyone asking for a passwrod, pretty sure they don’t do it, and it sparks of a lie to me.

max1 on January 5, 2009 at 4:23 PM

Your BRAIN is a “spitball” – and YOU are complete. pluperfect IDIOT who thinks the way most people DEFECATE: In SHORT, SMELLY SPURTS!!!!

It’s absolutely true.

I hate saying it as much of most of you will not like reading it.

I think that this is despicable!

This is the classic example of our Border defenses illegally harassing innocent people – while they let REAL Terrorists flow in and out unabated.

I am going to send this into Homeland Security and ask WHY “Officer Knapp” has not been FIRED!!

I think we ALL should!!