Andrew Sullivan wrote:
>On Sat, Aug 06, 2005 at 05:34:20PM -0400, Richard T. Romanik wrote:
>
>
>
>I will note that I have to agree with Josh here. I hold dual
>(US/Can) citizenship, and I still get a hassle at the border every
>time I cross. Plus, and I hate to raise this, I'm about as
>non-racial-profile-target as you get. One of the folks I work with,
>who is originally from India, was once detailed by the TSA and HS
>people on the US side. Because under the PATRIOT act, such
>detentions are not subject to normal process, he didn't even have a
>right to let people know where he was. From the point of view of the
>rest of the world, it was as if he'd dropped off the earth.
>
>
Not to beat a dead horse... Or to split hairs...
First, such detentions even before the USAPATRIOT act did not appear to
be subject to the normal policies. Often times it is assumed that
foreigners, especially those who have not yet officially entered the US,
do not have the constitutional protections normally afforded to
residents or citizens of the US. IANAL, but I believe that there is
ample precident for this and it is a very serious concern. A foreign
exchange student who stayed with my parents was so detained in 1996 (she
was eventually released in the middle of the night in a city where she
didn't know anyone, and I don't even think she was 18 years old at the
time). So these policies are not new; they may just be more aggresively
used.
Secondly, I hold US citizenship and my wife is an Indonesian national.
We have never run into serious trouble travelling but I have had a
couple of close calls (returning from a 6-week visit to South America
for the purposes of learning Spanish, ariving in NYC at midnight, and
replying to the customs officers in Spanish....) but nothing major. So
I doubt that most of those coming to the conference would have trouble,
but I would as soon not risk having any key member (say of the core
community) detained, harrassed, etc. for no real apparant reason.
Finally, if Sen. Kennedy or Cat Stevens can end up on a no-fly list, why
should we risk it? At least a senator has the contacts to get the
problems resolved. Most of us do not.
Toronto is fine with me. I personally have no specific attachment to
any specific location. But I do worry about the impact that the current
visa/passport requirements would bring if it were held in the US.
Best Wishes,
Chris Travers