Advocates question Border Patrol on Greyhound, Amtrak
(via Syracuse University's Web site)
On Wednesday, amNewYork looks at a Border Patrol practice of asking for proof of citizenship on Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains within 100 miles of any border, including the Canadian border. We talked to one upstate professor who was questioned by Border Patrol agents four times while traveling by bus. Here's an extended version of a Q&A running in the paper:
Silvio Torres-Saillant
Professor in the English Dept. and director of the Latino-Latin American Studies Program at Syracuse University, a citizen originally from the Dominican Republic who was questioned four times by Border Patrol agents.
What do you think about the fact that you’ve been questioned four times now?
35 years of continuous residency in the United States, the highest university degrees, a significant job at a prestigious university, some books under my belt including the majority of them in English, will not suffice someone else’s trappings of foreignness and not belonging. Some people continue to be suspect regardless of how they’ve lead their lives.
Do you feel you’ve been targeted because of your looks?
I think so.
When you were approached where were you?
I’ve been approached on the bus and I’ve been approached while waiting in the regional transportation center here.
Do you notice if they ask everybody or if they target people?
In the waiting area they target people. Once they get on the bus the tendency is to do the whole row. I’ve seen them skip people. In the bus I have seen them skip but I cannot honestly say … I’ve come up with a pattern.
What did they do when they approached you?
Mostly they’ve been asking what country are you a citizen of? And they may or may not be satisfied and they ask you for documentation. They ask me for documentation. I’ve had a tete-a-tete with the men in green where I’ve delayed as much as possible furnishing documentation. He said, Sir, the law says you’re supposed to carry documents all the time. Since I know this is happening and since I know it is a lot scarier for people other than me. I can make a call and perhaps have a chancellor come rescue me. In a sense I am upset by the fact that I have to go through this, but what incites me more the thought of what it would be like for other people who are more vulnerable than I am. So I try not to make it easy. I try to engage them in conversation much to their dismay. They want uncritical unqualified obedience.
What have you seen on buses?
On one particular trip I went from Syracuse to Buffalo. There is a rest stop at Rochester. Before anybody steps down at the rest stop, the driver leaves and Border Patrol comes in and checks everybody. This happened on the 11th of December. This happened on the way there and the way back. This happened when my wife was going to the citizenship office for her exam. On the way there a young man was escorted by a Border Patrol guard who treated him rather brutally, no kindness of any kind. Grabbed the man put his arms behind his back. Had him identify his luggage. I saw this happening and I decided I would say something so I asked the driver if the young man would he get his money returned and if he knew when he was boarding the bus if he knew this would happen to him. The driver got defensive. …saying this is government business sir I cannot interfere. On the way back, a lady in the back apparently was unable to produce the kind of identification that they were looking for and they escorted her out and took her to the luggage compartment to identify her bags so she could be detained. You know this is not the border of Mexico. This is internal travel. This speaks much to moveable borders. And of course, I saw the lady with a kid. Border patrol has no obligation whatsoever nor does it have the humanity to inform relatives [of where people are taken].
Who do they target in the bus station?
If you are a teenager, white female, college age wearing your jeans or something you’re likely to escape and the person wearing who is wearing a jacket who has a go-tee who’s dark is likely to be approached.
When you were approached in the station what did you say to them?
First I showed my Syracuse [University] faculty ID, and this guard didn’t think that was enough. And I said sir that is all I can show you. He said you have to show me some verification of your legal status. He said the law said you are required to carry your papers on all times. In the end I showed him other things but nothing connected with immigration. I do not carry a driver’s license. I ended up showing other things, I did college id, I did credit cards, the thing I had with me at the time that had a picture and had a name. in the end the guy felt to just leave me alone.
Would they be satisfied with your identification?
They would be satisfied with my passport. Some lawyers have been saying all we need to do is make sure what information we give such as our names. We cannot lie to the officers. A regular American citizen doesn’t have to prove your citizenship all the time. Part of the privilege of being an American citizen is you don’t have to prove your citizenship all the time. You have a civil right to not reveal information. Of course that’s the kind of option I could pursue but even a person with a green card may be hesitant to pursue that route.
What happened in the end when you’ve been approached?
In the end, I’ve shown what I had to show and I’ve been let go. I’ve been treated differently by different guards. I’ve been told spare me the explanation sir. When they ask me where I’m from I say planet earth. On the bus it’s better. I say sir is this what our tax dollars pay you to do? I’ve been told shut up and sit down. I say I cannot shut up… because as an American I am required to defend freedom for all.
What do you feel about this practice, in general?
In general, the persecution of migrants, which is just on the grounds of national security is actually a threat to national security. Because the amount of resources that is spent on policing every bus, the incarceration of the people that are detained…if you do the math you end up with huge sums of money that are being invested in the persecution of migrants. If you look at the yield you find that it is minuscule insignificant figure that the people that are arrested are connected in any way with a national security situation. It’s resources that are being taken away were concern is warranted and therefore putting the country in danger.
What areas do you think are warranted?
Anything that has to do with explosives. Mexican farm workers who are looking to pick tomatoes for companies that pay them pennies are very unlikely to bring down a tower in New York. the guy exploding the tower could be a foreigner or a national and could be of any color. To me this is pure theatrics. It’s looking to demonstrate it’s doing something in the fight against terrorism. You say the largest case, 120 migrants are surrounded and captured, and you see the proud officers there. But those people, they just wanted to pick the tomato. They’re just volunteering to be exploited in the United States because it was better than whatever was back home. That’s not a victory against terrorism.
