Image via WikipediaBut when a group of 2,000 elderly British cruise ship passengers docked at Los Angeles for a short stop-off during a five-star cruise around America it was, in the words of one of them, more like arriving at Guantanamo Bay....
Although they had already been given advance clearance for multiple entries to the country during their trip, all 2,000 passengers were made to go through full security checks in a process which took seven hours to complete.
The fingerprints of both hands were taken as well as retina scans and a detailed check of the passport as well as questioning as to their background.
Passengers claim that the extra checks were carried out in “revenge” for what had been a minor spat over allegedly overzealous security.
They complain that they were “herded like animals” and made to stand for hours in temperatures up to 80F with no food or water or access to lavatories.
Some are said to have passed out in the heat while others were left confused and bewildered.
When one lady asked in desperation whether she could use a bathroom, one immigration official is said to have replied: “Do it over the side, we won’t mind.”Precisely because US Immigration officials have the authority to act the way they did, the original passengers should not have "acted out". Just keep your thoughts to yourself. Meanwhile, California's illegal immigrants, you know, the ones that don't bother to stand in line for seven hours, get most-favored-alien treatment.
I thought the Obama era was going to be all hopey-changy. What went wrong?
h/t Drudge.
4 comments:
The American people traded their freedom for security and got neither. I will no longer travel to the US. They are a police state. A land of fearful people who do not see the solution is worse than the problem.
Kevin -- ya gotta actually go to the US to see what the people are like. Ya can't get it all from the internet. No In 'N' Out Burger for you, eh?!
I have been to the US many times in the past and never would have thought they would let this happen; But they did.
For what it's worth, I find security at Pearson (Toronto) more of a hassle than nearby Buffalo, NY.
But, to agree with you to some extent, certainly after 9-11 it's a different world.
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