Mass. State Treasurer detained at airport for carrying peaches
Roxy Gloopstick says:
LinkMassachusets State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill and his family were detained at Logan Airport for over an hour when Customs officials discovered that one of his daughters was carrying contraband in the form of 3 peaches. Predictably, the agents were rude and unreasonable, and Cahill was told that he had to immediately pay a $300 fine or spend the night in jail. Could he appeal the fine? The officials wouldn't say.
To his enormous credit, Cahill didn't try to wiggle out of the situation by telling the officials that he was the Treasurer. He endured the process as any other citizen would. And now he's pissed.
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I actually had this exact same situation happen to me in the form of Mandarins (at Logan as well). I (stupidly or not, I'm not sure) ate them quickly after being told of the $300 fine, and when the customs agent returned I had but an 1/8th of a Mandarin left. He was very angry but after showing what was left of the evidence to his boss, told me that I was lucky they were busy and I could go.
I found the whole situation really ridiculous and felt that I was being treated as a foreign infiltrator of some sorts and not an American citizen.
The internet is full of stories like this. Those traveling under foreign passports are treated even worse. There seems to be no oversight or legal training at all, just people with badges who look at everyone as a criminal. Its about time they stopped someone with a bit of influence who didn't pull rank on the spot.
I am glad the treasurer did not wave his position around at the airport, as he should have no special treatment than any other Citizen. Unfortunately, the cartoon-rediculousness of airport security is just a joke. This makes me drive to Boston whenever I go -- a 10.5 hour drive from Pittsburgh is actually a *shorter* ammount of time, door-to-door, than taking an airplane. I also get to smoke whatever and whenever, bring all kinds of fluids, and whatever other munchies.
while i credit the man for his handling of the situation, i think its lame that people in his position only get angry when things like this happen to them, and ignore the constant stream of stories about these things happening to the people they're supposed to be serving.
imPEACH [rimshot]
I think people like him are generally too busy to worry about the thousands of people that don't get the service they deserve. But I guess when it happens to someone like him the TSA takes notice. Which is quite a miracle in itself.
This summary doesn't mention they were flying from Italy.
This seems less a homeland security incident than it does an issue of transport of foreign produce, which can be a very very big deal.
I hate to say this, but to an extent I side with the officials here. Yes: they could have handled the situation a lot better, and yes: people need to be educated as to the potentially disastrous consequences of importing diseased or pest-carrying fruit and vegetables. I doubt that the peaches were "contraband" and that the officials' reaction was related to the evasion of a few cents of import duty. If it was, and I am incorrect, I retract every word of this post and the evil power crazed scum wearing the customs uniforms should have the book thrown at them. But if the real reason for their reaction was to protect US agriculture from pests and disease, then no, their reactions, although somewhat disproportionate, were not necessarily unthinking and irrational.
- Andrew
Imagine if he would have been looking mid-eastern...
It's sad when even elected officials are ignorant of LAWS that are quite valid:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/clearing_goods/agri_prod_inus.xml
He and his family were arriving from a foreign destination (interesting that BoingBoing has decided to "spin" the initial post by not mentioning this - making it seem like they were just flying in from some other State). He has no reason, legal or otherwise, to complain. It is the US Customs Service's job to make sure that agricultural products (which may otherwise carry vectors for contamination or infection of US agricultural produce) are declared and seized if necessary.
And if people think "it's no big deal" and that Customs agents are being "out of line" by zealously enforcing that law, think again:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_imported_fire_ant
My wife and I recently returned from Amsterdam with 2 cheese wheels. We asked at the store if they knew whether we could bring cheese with us, and they said that as long as you bring the entire wheel encased in wax it should be no problem.
We returned to Toronto via Detroit where we were asked by US Customs whether we had any animal products. We said we had cheese encased in wax. The agent told us that it was very good that we disclosed this and didn't just assume it was okay to bring it. If we'd withheld this declaration we'd be subject to fines around $400. He dismissed us after that, not having said a word about the intricate bong in my carry-on! (Canadian customs asked about this and said it was fine, as long as it hadn't been used)
You can't bring produce through customs. That's been the rule since way before security went cuckoo bananas. They fine and threat of jail is still ridiculous. They just make you throw it out.
I agree, no produce through customs.
And it makes perfect sense to threaten to send an adult to jail because his daughter packed three peaches.
Totally reasonable response, this is why they carry automatic weapons.
As an anonymous customs agriculture specialist I can tell you that he got the penalty for not declaring his peaches and that it takes an hour to do all the paperwork to give the penalty. I can tell you that most ag specialists do not like to give penalties but since being pulled into the department of homeland security our new management makes us give penalties in situations such as this. In the past he probably would have been given a warning. Any fruit or animal product that is brought into the country could bring in foreign plant pests and diseases that would take millions to billions to eradicate. If he would have declared the peaches they would have been seized and destroyed by approved methods and no penalty would have been given. The procedures for giving penalties are available on the USDA website for anyone to read. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/violations.pdf
#10 -- According to that wikipedia article, the red fire ants have won. What could US customs have done to stop this?
My family and I (two children, wife) recently drove from Seattle to Vancouver for a day trip. We did our research and knew we would need our driver's licenses and birth certificates.
On the way in to Canada the boarder guard asked us for our documents and asked some general questions about where we lived, why we were in Washington, and why we were coming to Vancouver. It seemed like a very friendly conversation and I have no problems with it.
That evening we were coming back to Seattle. The U.S. border guard was both physically and audibly repulsed when I presented him with birth certificates instead of passports. He chastised me on the fact that a year from now a passport would be required. He then turned to go back to his booth and enter some information. As he was walking away he said "It's going to take another 9/11 before you people get it!". WTF?
Of course, he didn't even look at the car or ask any questions, so he would have totally missed anything suspicious had there been anything. :(
More Transportation Security Theater.
Courtesy of billions of wasted tax dollars.
And the TSA. (read this article)
There's a song by The Presidents of the United States of America
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Presidents_of_the_United_States_of_America_%28band%29
Peaches
Movin to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches
Im movin to the country Im gonna eat me a lot of peaches
Im movin to the country Im gonna eat a lot of peaches
Movin to the country Im gonna eat a lot of peaches
Peaches come from a can they were put there by a man
In a factory downtown
If I had my little way Id eat peaches everyday
Sun soakin bulges in the shade
Movin to the country Im gonna eat a lot of peaches
Movin to the country Im gonna eat a lot of peaches
Im movin to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches
Movin to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches
I took a little nap where the roots all twist
Squished a rotten peach in my fist
And dreamed about you woman
I poked my finger down inside makin a little room for a ant to hide
Natures candy in my hand or can or a pie
Millions of peaches peaches for me
Millions of peaches peaches for free
Millions of peaches peaches for me
Millions of peaches peaches for free
Look out
Millions of peaches peaches for me
Millions of peaches peaches for free
Millions of peaches peaches for me
Millions of peaches peaches for free
Look out
It's pure arbitrariness. Same is with the fact that it s forbidden to dance in New York (what a joke). America turned into a fascist state. More and more states follow this example and they already do (eg UK). We all gonna end up in a globalized state, ruled by a fascist regime. One day they will control everything, the internet will fall last. Halleluja!
#1: That last word: 'citizen', is that a misspelling of 'subject'?
I flew in from Paris to Chicago in 1994 with a rose I had been given before leaving. Upon arriving in Chicago at passport control, I was specifically asked if I had any fruits or vegetables. I truthfully said "no." When he opened up my bag and saw the rose on the top he became quite upset and said that I should not have lied and should have told him about the rose. I told him I did not lie and that he had not asked me about this. Since I did not want to press the issue, I just let him inspect the flower and after about 5 seconds he "found" something that would have proliferated and caused irreparable harm to the US and its agricultural system. Needless to say, he took the flower. This was way before September 11, but as you can see, passport control can be rude and inconsistent.
I am astonished that a state treasurer is apparently ignorant to the need for customs to control the import of fruits, vegetables and flora. The risk of foreign diseases, pests and bacteria being carried into the country is very real and could threaten the agricultural sector. Sure, it was accidental and he didn't even know the peaches were there, but once it was brought to his attention that (knowingly or not) he was guilty of bringing undeclared contraband into the country, why was he surprised or angered to be fined?
I live in Australia, where we have public awareness campaigns that tell us "Customs Matters" and why these laws are so strictly enforced. Perhaps the US needs to educate it's population too? Clearly many fail to realise the potential for economic devastation if foreign pests are introduced and destroy local crops.
Ironically, here are two of the "Ads by Google" that were at the bottom of the story (with links redacted, of course) when I looked at it:
Counterterrorism Degrees
Earn your Bachelor's degree in Counterterrorism 100% online!
Seems to me the only meaningful distinction between "fine" and "bribe" here is whose pockets it ends up in.
Waitaminit! This has nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism. As Anonymous#22 points out, this was an agricultural stop, and needs to be taken seriously.
Right now, our vast tracts of ash trees are dying, thanks to an introduced Asian parasite, the emerald borer.
Our elms are gone because of the Dutch elm tree fungus.
Our grapes and apples are threatened by introduced parasites.
One piece of contaminiated foreign fruit or wood is all it takes!
I dislike the TSA, but please, wise up about agricultural restrictions!
I agree that agricultural imports need to be controlled. So does the State Treasurer, Timothy Cahill. That is not the issue, and they should not be conflated.
The issue is how they were treated. The agents were abusive, angry, and unprofessional - something most people who have flown recently have also witnessed. It is in fact possible to control agricultural imports without having anger-management issues.