US Immigration on Tonight with Trevor McD

[alfie]

Well after all is said and done i will be going back, I love Florida, AND i feel safer for the security measures put in place...

[chrizzy100]

The point being made from how I see it without seeing the show that is......is not the being stopped......but the chains and no food or drink......not even someone carrying a gun onboard a plane would get that treatment because they would be getting a day in court.....for it all to come out into the open.......

[Nostromo]

As I have said elsewhere, I beleive this is just a post-Iraq fallout - a sort of McCarthyisque paranoia of "Red under the bed". Only in this case, the 'Red' is a militant Islamic terrorist. Everyone walking up to a US immigartion desk will be considered a terrorist until proven otherwise. Hopefully, this is a passing phase that will be eventually replaced by a more level-headed system, but while it is in place the US administration are risking losing out on what friends they have left.

[Jill]

I think they said the first person had flown into the west coast where his in-laws were based.

[chrison]

I have just returned from Florida and on entry was treated with respect by a very friendly and talkative immigration officer.Two plane loads of passengers were processed in around 25 minutes and I being near the end of the queue did not witness anyone being unduely interrogated.
Having lived in N.Ireland for most of my life I have grown up with enhanced security and become accustomed to being treated with suspicion when I open my mouth whatever part of the world I may be in.I have visited the USA on numerous occasions and have always been treated with respect.
If the enhanced security means that travel will be safer and some of these maniacs will be caught then I for one am happy that a "few" mistakes will inevitably be made.

[Nostromo]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chrison
I have just returned from Florida and on entry was treated with respect by a very friendly and talkative immigration officer.Two plane loads of passengers were processed in around 25 minutes and I being near the end of the queue did not witness anyone being unduely interrogated.
Having lived in N.Ireland for most of my life I have grown up with enhanced security and become accustomed to being treated with suspicion when I open my mouth whatever part of the world I may be in.I have visited the USA on numerous occasions and have always been treated with respect.
If the enhanced security means that travel will be safer and some of these maniacs will be caught then I for one am happy that a "few" mistakes will inevitably be made.
[/quote]

I see what you are saying, but at the end of the day only the person or persons subjected to such humiliation know what it really feels like. Human nature being what it is, you might not have been so forgiving had it been yourself or someone close to you who was the unwitting victim of these alleged "immigration check" excesses. One tends to accept the situation in one's own country (like N.Ireland in your case), but there is a certain disilluisionment involved in being humiliated by foreigners when you have paid a substantial part of your savings to get there with the intention of enjoying yourself. I agree that thotough security checks are essential this day and age, but one would have thought that a well equipped and experienced security apparatus would go about it with some discreet professionalism rather than employ an 'iron fist' policy.

[chrison]

In answer to your point " in ones own country". Having lived in London at the height of the troubles in N.I. and flown home every weekend for approx nine months I was on many occasions treated as an undesirable,at Heathrow airport in particular. Being a tolerant person I accepted that this was a part of life if terrorism was to be defeated. I have not changed my views even though the threat of IRA terrorism has subsided.
The threat from Al Queida and the like will not go away by being complacent and if this means that the worlds security forces may at some times be a little over zealous then it is a small price to pay for ones safety. Unfortunately there may be a few innocent people who will suffer some injustice but hopefully it will stop the guilty frm slipping through the net.

[benfilo]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:
If that means stopping someone because they are black,brown,yellow,white or whatever colour skin they have then so be it. Yes the people in the program were innocent but what about the ones that werent ?? wouldnt make good tv show them actually catching terrorists would it ??
[/quote]

there'd be some long waits if you stopped every colour, so how do you choose. I agree people should be stopped and detained for anything suspect, but they could at least be fed and watered.
Bad things happen in this country too. You can hijack a plane threaten to kill passengers and and crew, then you get let off and told you can live here we'll take care of you.[}]

[Nostromo]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by benfilo
there'd be some long waits if you stopped every colour, so how do you choose. I agree people should be stopped and detained for anything suspect, but they could at least be fed and watered.
[/quote]

I agree, but the 'suspects' predominantly seem to have brown skin. If the American (or British) authorities are looking for Islamic terrorists, how do you 'suspect' on appearances? Muslims can range from pure Caucasian White to Afro Black and yet the greater proportion of so-called suspects seem to be largely somewhere in-between. In the UK racial discriination may not be as obvious as in certain other places but it is still very much alive and kicking....and in some instances actually getting worse. I have lived here for almost 20 years and yet experience discrimination (the 'passive' type which seems to be a UK speciality) time and again. I am a tolerant man and do not carry a chip on my shoulder, but this attitude does seem strange to someone who has never knowingly broken the law.
As I mentioned in my report a few weeks earlier, my Mother-in-law was subjected to a very humiliating experience in the hands of some US Immigration officials at MCO. She is a frail 75 year old woman slowed by arthritis and can barely carry her own hand luggage. Yet, she was made to strike ridiculous poses as they subjected her to the most ridiculous body searches 3 times. All the time the officials' attitude was rude in the extreme and they finally let her go, there was not even a hint of an apology. Having seldom travelled abroad, my poor mother-in-law was rather excited about this trip to Orlando. But the experience at MCO frightened her so much that she could not enjoy rest of the trip and spent a lot of time in the villa on pretext of being 'tired'.
The officials could have done the same job with a bit more coutesy and aplomb. And these are the sort of uniformed morons that someone wants us to address as 'sir' all the time.[msnmad][msnmad]

[Scotborder]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chrizzy100
The point being made from how I see it without seeing the show that is......is not the being stopped......but the chains and no food or drink......not even someone carrying a gun onboard a plane would get that treatment because they would be getting a day in court.....for it all to come out into the open.......
[/quote]

I agree with you chrizzy, it's how they treat people especially if they only committed minor offences. It does not seem right.