Strip-searched woman sues U.S. border guards!

With the situation at the U.S. - Canada border the way it is your travel-weary author has stated on several occasions that unless I absolutely have to, there is no way I am going to go into the United States, and especially to spend my money there for a vacation.

Europe, fine.... anytime! The States is just plain "too much bother!"

(For business I can teleconference, or whatever!)

Got a couple of stories here that shows a lot of border guards (And this is on BOTH sides of the border kids!) think this is the Canada / Mexico border!!!!!!!

A woman from Stratford, Ont., has launched a $500,000 lawsuit in a U.S. federal court against two female U.S. border guards in Detroit.

In March 2010, Loretta Van Beek was travelling to Savannah, Ga., where she owns a small vacation home, when she was pulled over by customs agents at the Ambassador Bridge, across the river from Windsor, Ont.

Van Beek, 46, told CBC News she was sent to secondary inspection when customs officers found a few raspberries in her car that she'd forgotten to declare.

(Now this is where it gets nuts folks, because at this time of year you can bet yer ass that the berries are from the States to begin with!)

After more than an hour of questions, Van Beek was told she was being denied entry on suspicion that she was living illegally in the U.S.

Van Beek said she was marched into a holding cell by two female agents and ordered to remove her shirt and stand spread-eagled against the wall.

"She was squeezing my nipples, etc., for a very long time, unnecessary attention," Van Beek said of one of the agents. "It was sexual — using her fingertips, not back of hand like you would expect."

Then she said the search became even more invasive.

"She ran her hands in my lower region," Van Beek said.

Van Beek claims the guard shoved her hand inside her genital area while the other officer watched.

"It was deviant behaviour by the officer, no other explanation," said Van Beek. "Saw a woman on her own — vulnerable."

She said they photographed her and took her fingerprints, then sent her back to Canada.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection wouldn't comment on Van Beek's case but said the rules state: "We rely upon the judgment of our individual CBP officers to use their discretion as to the extent of examination necessary. However, CBP officers are expected to conduct their duties in a professional manner and to treat each traveller with dignity and respect."

A spokesperson said a strip-search is allowed when there is reason to believe someone is hiding something on his or her body, and the person has to be told the reason.

Van Beek said she wasn't given a reason.

The lawsuit documents were filed on Feb. 9, 2011.

By CBC news.

(On a side note I can remember back in the 70's when I was living in Sarnia and went over to Port Huron for the afternoon with nothing more than a drivers license because that's all ya needed back then. Where I ran into trouble was when the border guy wanted to know the reason for my trip, and i wanted to know why he wanted to know! His answer was; "Because a lot of people are trying to sneak into this country to live!" To which your smart remark author said; "WHY!" This didn't go over too well, and I got an earful before being sent back!)

And just so you don't think the abuse goes all one way bunky, have a look at this!

It was just days after a suspected al-Qaida member tried to ignite an explosive device aboard a Detroit-bound flight when Shileen Flynn, 29, had just returned home to Vancouver from a trip to Seattle, and was on her way to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, to start a new job as a public relations officer.

She was talking to her mom on a pay phone when a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer approached her.

“All of a sudden, the guy comes over to me and says, 'Can I talk to you?' I said, 'Of course, why not?'” said Flynn.

She said he asked her where she was travelling and why she was using a pay phone.

As he searched her carry-on bag and asked more questions, a bystander offered her a card for a lawyer, but the officer sent him away, Flynn alleges.

More officers arrived with a police dog who walked up to Flynn, sniffed her, walked away, came back over to her again, hesitated a moment, then left.

Then they brought her to a room with two female CBSA officers for a strip search.

Flynn — a frequent traveller who has been strip-searched twice before — said this time was different. She said the women made her bend over a table, open her legs, and squat and cough. They asked her personal questions, like when she last had sex, Flynn said.

“It's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me in my life,” said Flynn, who cried the whole way to Frankfurt. “It was totally demeaning and degrading. ... I've done nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing wrong.”

As soon as she got to Spain, she called her father, Charlie Flynn, who reported what happened to CBSA.

CBSA launched an internal investigation, interviewing Shileen and the officers involved.

After months of back and forth, Charlie received a letter from CBSA that read: “We have fully investigated the incident and concluded that the BSOs involved in examination of your daughter followed established guidelines and conducted themselves in a professional manner.”

“They keep saying that I'm lying,” said Shileen.

With no mention of the alleged verbal harassment by the border service officers, the letter explained that a strip search can be conducted if an officer “has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has secreted contraband on or about their body,” as long as a senior officer approves the search, and the suspect is informed of their rights.

“It was sickening to watch and see what they were doing. They then went into full cover-up in the investigation and simply lied when convenient to cover up any wrongdoing,” Charlie told QMI Agency.

Mark Holland, federal Liberal critic for public safety and national security, has been helping the Flynns with their case.

While he declined to comment specifically on what happened to Shileen Flynn, he said the case highlights the need for greater transparency and independence in CBSA's complaints process.

“It's like a black hole that people fall through all the time,” Holland told QMI Agency.

Shileen, meanwhile, is considering pursuing criminal charges or perhaps filing a lawsuit.

By Sheena Goodyear, QMI Agency

THERE YA HAVE IT FOLKS; But let me say this........ because this is Canada, NOT Mexico, we have a good judicial system. I say we should sue the border bastards at every opportunity! Let it happen to them a few times and they will get the message pretty damned quick!