The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #104218   Message #2135502
Posted By: Metchosin
28-Aug-07 - 04:21 PM
Thread Name: Homeland Security??????? For shame!!
Subject: RE: Homeland Security??????? For shame!!
Heric, when one is a "suit" one generally expects and has no problem at the border. However, if one is a younger indy musician with instrument in hand, expect delays or outright refusals, from both sides.

Officials from both countries, on the line, can be very arbitrary. Canadian's won't let adults across if they have been charged with criminal mischief when young. These are instances with which I am more intimately familiar.

Also if one has ever had any brush the law, a wake up call is in order. Americans won't accept Canadian pardons or anyone who has ever been fingerprinted for an offense, even if the case was thrown out of court or sumarily dismissed.

My problem is not dealing with border officials, as I have stated, but the general unease I feel when in the US.

When US citizens are getting hammered, with supposed rights in place against such harassment, imagine how some Canadians might feel, when even those crumbling protections, would be of absolutely no use to them if circumstancesever warranted.

I hope that brings my statements back into the fold, Mick.