Two Canadians learn that America is a police state.

[rexcat]

16. When I return to the US...

I answer their questions in a polite manner but if they are not specific I answer the question honestly but as vague as I can be. If asked where I was born I say the US. When they ask me where in the US I will respond in the Southeast. If asked where in the SE I will give them the state and if asked what city I will state it. In no way have I been deceitfully and I am always calm and respectful. If they want to know something specifically they have to ask specific questions. Same for all questions.

I had one US immigration officer Montreal, Canada become exasperated with me and asked what the hell I was doing. I politely told him that I worked in the pharmaceutical industry and we are trained to answer all questions (FDA or any government agency) honestly but without specifics unless directly asked. We ended up having an interesting conversation and I went on my way. The problem is people will say too much and it can inadvertently get them into trouble.

As far as the incident in the OP I think the immigration officers were being total dicks from the beginning. If I were to sit on a jury on that case I would vote to acquit and I would have some harsh comments for the US immigration officers. People should be treated with more respect but that does not seem to be the case in the US. And as far as Canadian immigration officers go they have been very nice to me but because the US immigration officers treat Canadian citizens we should expect some blow back. We are seeing blow back in other countries also.