Letters to the Editor
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Incompetence at the Border
About 2 years ago, my mom & I drove back to NYC from Montreal through Vermont. As usual, we shopped. A lot. And purchased more than our allotted number of cases of beer at duty free. We were asked to pull over at customs, accused of smuggling by a swaggering deputy, and told we'd have to empty our car and all our bags so they could check the price tags and see what we bought.
While we were being interrogated (yes, interrogated for buying too many kitchen gadgets), I listened to a woman being questioned by another officer. She was visiting NYC, but had no one there to contact, no hotel reservation, and no family, in Canada or the States. She had no passport, no birth certificate, just a Canadian drivers license. They let her through after 5 minutes of questioning.
I also watched them wave through a truck with a boat attached without checking either.
If you're going to establish border patrol regulations, they should be carried out in a way that makes sense.
After 2 1/2 hours, we were finally allowed to get back on the road and head home, but not without paying a $50 fine and returning 2 cases of beer.