Boing Boing: Homeland Security bans Canadian Band from US for 5 years

Monday, July 24, 2006

Homeland Security bans Canadian Band from US for 5 years

Canadian band The Grey can't enter the US for five years because they told US border guards they weren't playing a gig in the US. The guards checked the band's online touring schedule and went ballistic.

We were treated as terrorists at first. When we first went, one by one, into the room with the interrogating officer they used that line about "America is at war, and Canada may not take that seriously..." and "since 9-11, we take these things seriously." Then they realized that we were not making any money doing what we do, and that we were more naïve than anything else. Some of the other guards even told us that the whole thing was bullshit, and that it was overzealous and a waste of paperwork.
The decision to deport and ban us from the US was made entirely by officer Kurt Tennat, the supervising officer. He said he had consulted his supervisor by phone, but we don't know for sure. No court proceedings, no legalities, no chance.

Link

Reader comment: Michael Sider says:

Bands travelling from the U.S. to Canada often have had similar experiences, even long before 9-11. I brought many U.S. bands to Vancouver in the early 90's and they were mercilessly hassled, often turned back to the U.S. We kept trying to determine what exactly the rules were, but every response was different. We managed to contact someone high up in Canadian Immigration through a friend of a friend, and their response was that the laws are intentionally ambiguous so that it is up to the discretion of individual border guards whether ANYONE crosses the border, and no recourse if you don't like their conclusion. One trick that often worked was if the band told the border guards that they were coming to Canada to record (helps to have someone in Canada willing to confirm the story), as this means they are going to be spending money in Canada rather than earning it... may work for bands going to the U.S. as well, don't know.

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:54:31 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

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