What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

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Undaunted
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Re: What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

Post by Undaunted »

fountainhall wrote: Sat Aug 31, 2019 9:45 am that the trigger for the search was almost certainly Bangkok being my original departure point. I was also searched occasionally on entry at Narita. So, even if I had indeed departed first from Bangkok, I then started writing Hong Kong on the card and using my Hong Kong address as my residence.
I am not surprised that you were detained. If I was an immigration officer I’d stop you too.
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Re: What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

Post by Gaybutton »

werner99 wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 2:39 pm
Gaybutton wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 1:43 pm it does seem that those officers were unnecessarily overzealous.
I disagree. I think that the officers were overzealous
Didn't I say that . . . ?
Jun

Re: What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

Post by Jun »

Gaybutton wrote: Sat Aug 31, 2019 12:22 pm I didn't mention it because I figured that is an obvious "it goes without saying." A person would have to be an utter moron to carry porn images in a manner by which customs officers from any country could find them.

If one just has to have those images, then simply Email them to yourself or upload them to some web site where they can be stored, and then wipe the images off the device storing them along with clearing where they were uploaded from the device so even that won't be found. That way there will be nothing questionable on the device and the images can be retrieved later.

Provided the porn is not of anyone under age, I don't see what business it is of customs agents in the first place, but they do make it their business.
1 I confess to being an utter moron then, since my phone & tablet contain porn images, screenshots of phone app guys & so on. I mitigate the risk by:
(i) Not going to places where I am at high risk of problems with immigration. NOT Iran, Morocco or the USA, for instance.
(ii) If I have taken photos myself, I also photograph the ID card of the guy as proof of age. Although, I don't often take photos.

2 If you do need to visit a high risk country, uploading the images to google drive or some other storage facility might make sense. Another option may be to move everything to a micro SD card, which could be more easily concealed. The latter option is much higher risk & would require considerable thought.

3 I also agree that the porn is none of the custom agents business, providing it is of adults. Frankly, with all the other substances that are smuggled AND the widespread availability of porn on the internet, I don't know why the customs agents waste their time on this. In the UK, I have never seen them waste time on this.
Why are the US agents not given a boot up the arse & moved onto drug smuggling which IS a problem ? Something is not quite right if a country known for defending freedom employs customs officials to harass innocent people when there are high priority targets. [I'm not intending to knock the US as a whole here, just their immigration people. The UK and other democracies probably have similar failings in different sectors. The UK police might, for instance find the fastest straightest piece of road with a somewhat inappropriate 30 or 40 mph limit & set up a speed trap. What they should do is go after criminals, or if chasing motorists, go for the genuinely irresponsible ones ]
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Re: What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

Post by Gaybutton »

Jun wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 7:29 pm my phone & tablet contain porn images, screenshots of phone app guys & so on.
If you're really carrying those internationally, I hope you won't discover the hard way that you're traveling with a time bomb. Sooner or later luck has a way of running out.

Not only would I not carry anything containing images that, rightly or wrongly, could get me into trouble, but I wouldn't even carry anything that had ever contained any such images. Given today's forensic technology capabilities, a person might think the images had been wiped clean, but if they decide to dig deeply enough, if any were ever there, they'll find them.

To me, it's just not worth it. There is one item they can't check - my memory. It may not be as good now as it used to be, but it still works.

You said you mitigate the risk. Knowing the potential consequences, mitigating the risk wouldn't be good enough for me. Why take any risk at all when you can preserve the images as I suggested?

Do as you wish, but when I travel internationally, I travel clean as a whistle no matter what they might want to inspect (although I never figured out just how clean a whistle actually is).
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Re: What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

Post by christianpfc »

I have pornographic images and videos on my phone and don't see a problem as long as pornography is not forbidden in the country of departure and arrival. Same applies to my laptop, but I don't take it with me on most trips.
Jun

Re: What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

Post by Jun »

Gaybutton wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 8:29 pm Not only would I not carry anything containing images that, rightly or wrongly, could get me into trouble, but I wouldn't even carry anything that had ever contained any such images.
With a phone, the only way to do that is to never capture any such images via screenshot, camera etc OR have a separate phone for travel.
This makes life difficult !

I'm not at all concerned about risk when returning to the UK. Perhaps I should think more carefully about the Asian countries I visit.

I don't read much about people getting pulled up for this. As one exception, there were newspaper reports of a gay guy spending 3 weeks in a Moroccan jail due to gay material on his phone, but Morocco is one of the countries where I might just take enhanced precautions as you suggest. So far I've taken an even better solution of not visiting the place.
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Re: What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

Post by Gaybutton »

Harvard student denied US entry arrives in time for classes

By Philip Marcelo, Associated Press

BOSTON — Sep 3, 2019

A Palestinian student who was denied entry to the United States just days before he was scheduled to start classes at Harvard University has been admitted to the country.

Ismail Ajjawi was on campus as classes began Tuesday, the university confirmed.

"The last ten days have been difficult and anxiety filled, but we are most grateful for the thousands of messages of support and particularly the work of AMIDEAST," his family said, referring to the academic organization that provided their son a scholarship to attend Harvard. "We hope now that everyone can respect our and Ismail's privacy and he can now simply focus on settling into College and his important class work."

Ajjawi didn't respond to messages seeking comment and his father, Bassel, declined to elaborate beyond the written statement.

Ajjawi's lawyer, Albert Mokhiber, called his client's case a "classic sad tale with an exceptionally unique happy ending."

"Against all odds a Palestinian refugee who attended UNRWA schools in the camps of Lebanon, earns a full scholarship to Harvard, hits a road block, but is eventually granted entry to the U.S. to pursue his college dream," he said in a statement, referring to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency that provides aid to Palestinian refugees.

Ajjawi was denied entry Aug. 23 after spending eight hours in Boston Logan International Airport. He had been living in Lebanon.

The 17-year-old freshman said the denial had to do with politically oriented social media posts by friends. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has said only that the decision to cancel Ajjawi's visa was based on information discovered during an inspection.

The agency on Tuesday said Ajjawi "overcame all grounds of inadmissibility" and was admitted into the country on a student visa. It declined to answer questions about why he was initially denied entry and how the case was resolved.

AMIDEAST, which offers scholarship for financially challenged Palestinian youths from Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, said the U.S. Embassy in Beirut reviewed Ajjawi's case and reissued his visa.

"We are pleased that Ismail's Harvard dream will come true after all," said Theodore Kattouf, the organization's president and CEO, in a statement. "Ismail is a bright young man whose hard work, intelligence and drive enabled him to overcome the challenges that Palestinian refugee youth continue to face in order to earn a scholarship."

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wi ... s-65355836
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Re: What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

Post by werner99 »

Gaybutton wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 9:18 am Harvard student denied US entry arrives in time for classes

By Philip Marcelo, Associated Press

BOSTON — Sep 3, 2019

A Palestinian student who was denied entry to the United States just days before he was scheduled to start classes at Harvard University has been admitted to the country.
Gaybutton,

Thanks for sharing the latest news about this case

I am so glad that the case got resolved.

I am often cynical and pessimistic, but sometimes justice does prevail!
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Re: What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

Post by Undaunted »

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Re: What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

Post by Gaybutton »

"Lord Louis will be most grateful."
- Jack Hawkins (Major Warden), 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'
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