Quote:
Originally Posted by Diamondhead
Border guards do not need any reason to search you or your car. Most of them make make less than people that work fast food in Canada so it's not uncommon to encounter one that likes to make an example of someone. If you are a jerk like this guy expect to get hassled. You may even get hassled when you are polite. They ask questions, you answer them. They are under no obligation to let anyone enter their country.
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Actually Border Officers do need grounds to search your vehicle. Having said that, the grounds required to do such a search are much less than if you were within the country. (ie: being searched by the police) If someone is sent in for a search there is always a report written as to why the person was referred into the examination area outlining the reasons why. (Correction: This is only done if something is found) It can be as simple as being evasive with questions, holding the steering wheel tight, looking the other way when answering questions, but there is always a reason why someone is sent in.
In the above case, most likely because he was refusing to answer the questions and started to act up. It is much safer to deal with someone who is getting agitated in a controlled environmnet rather than inside of a vehicle. That is probably why they asked them to step out and have a seat so thet could finish the interview. I would agree that the question of "what store are you shopping at" is a little strange to ask; but there are possible reasons to ask it. For example, maybe the the vehicle had a bumper sticker that said "I hate feds and I love guns" and the officer wanted to know if was going to a gun shop. There are a million other reasons why he may have asked that. A reasonable person would probablyt be a little annoyed at the question (me being one of them) but a reasonable person wouldn't do what the guy above did at the US border. In the law enforcement field we go on the idea that a lie is only three questions deep. Meaning that the first three questions asked one can usually come up with a response pretty fast, but after that the lie starts to fall apart.
Everything I stated above is based on Canadian laws and policy.
As for the pay of Border Officers I am not sure where you are getting your info. They make a decent wage. In Canada starting at around $60,000 per year. In the US it is more. It probably should be more but it is most certainly much more than someone working at McDonalds.
IMO this guys deserves what he gets. The border is no place to act like a dick even if the officer is acting a little bit of a dick himself. Answer the questions and if he thought the officer was unprofessional he could have filed a complaint.
This guy has to remember he is a guest to the United States and he has no right of entry. Would he go to his neighbors house and act the same way?