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Image provided by: University at Buffalo
CM by Jon-Michael Glionna Feature Editor U.S. Customs With sunrise more than an hour away, my friend and I had to rely on the murky lights to cast a wan glow upon our hastily magic-markered sign. It read ‘Toronto,’ and we were still qn the American side of the Peace Bridge. The earlier part of the Friday evening was blown drinking drafts, careening through road construction markers and stealing pies and we still weren’t tired. Back in the U.S.A., A puny sportscar darted from the night and skidded to a screeching halt along side of us. Two smiling Canadians rolled down their windows, ‘“Op in,’ how 'bout a couple of beers fellas? We’re going to Toronto, too.” We stuffed ourselves in and popped open two sixteen-ounce Budweisers. Our speedy coupe zipped over the Niagara River when the driver noticed that we were running out of gas. We passed through Canadian customs without incident and after wasting almost an hour buzzing around the 4 streets of Fort Erie, I suggested that we would have better luck if we returned to the States. My proposal was heartily applauded and awarded with another round of beers. you don't know how lucky you are boys As we swerved our way back over the bridge, making use of both traffic lanes, I tried to recall if I knew any station that would be open at 5:30 a.m. We would ask the customs officer, I concluded. The booths were so deserted at that early hour that only the last one displayed the inviting green light. We came to a stop alongside the cubicle as a middle-aged woman with glasses peered inside the car. “Citizenship?” she demanded. “We’re Canadians,” was the response from the front seat. Her stare shifted to the back as I clutched my beer uneasily beneath my coat. “We’re from Buffalo, er . . . We go to school there,” my friend added. She asked our purpose in the States and we readily explained. This, however, did not satisfy her. She wanted to see ID’s from all of us, and after close scrutiny returned them along with a red tag which she slid underneath the windshield wiper. “Drive down to the garage where the officer is waving the light,” she instructed. The car pulled away from the booth and headed towards the customs garage for a more thorough inspection. We questioned each other, struggling to empty three-quarter filled beer cans. The search was on! BETTER WATCH OUT; People often have a falsa tansa of sacurtly whan crossing the border, a customs official warned. Cars can be stopped and searched on suspicion—or whim. Above, the Peace Bridge Joins thha U.S. and Canada. that, ideally, customs officials should search every car but with the excessive flow of traffic during some hours, the decision to stop a car is left up to the individual officer. Shuffle into Buffalo? After a car rolls off the Peace Bridge and passes through the first row of booths where the 35 cent bridge maintainance toll is collected, it proceeds to the customs booths. There, an officer questions the occupants’ nationalities, purpose of trip and nature of possessions. If the answers to these questions satisfy the inspector, the car is allowed to continue on its way to Buffalo. If the officer becomes suspicious for any reason, the vehicle is subject to a more extensive search in a nearby customs garage. Officials have indicators of various sorts to weed out people they believe should not be granted entrance to the country, according to Sabio. “We have a complex computer system which connects to others run by Federal agencies such as the Treasury Enforcement and National Crime Indication systems,’’ he said. Information contained on every license plate is run through this computer system. Sabio also explained that customs outposts are supplied with phpto albums of all known convicted criminals to aid inspectors in their identification attempts. Individual officers are then left to their own discretion in stopping vehicles which pass these preliminary customs checks. “I sometimes stop cars on impulse,” admitted part-time officer Bob McDonald, who doubles as both customs inspector and school teacher. “Sometimes you’re left to operate on a gut level and act upon your own personal stereotypes,” he added. McDonald also explained the “blitz” procedure which is ordered by supervisor’s whims noting, “Every so often, usually in non-peak periods, we are instructed to stop every car which passes through for a more thorough check.” He also claimed that inspectors often choose a lettfcr for a particular day and stop all cars donning a license plate ending in that letter.\ Watchful eyes Entering the United States over any one of the four bridges—the Peace Bridge, Rainbow Bridge, Lewiston Bridge and Whirlpool Bridge—connecting Western New York and Canada, travellers must subject themselves and their belongings to the wary eye of U.S. customs. Many of the tens of thousands of cars which venture over these bridges every day carry'commuters, businessmen, sightseers and families. But the roads are also open to travellers with other motives. Illegal ones. These are the vehicles which customs officers on both sides of the bridges are out to stop. Established by the First Act of Congress in 1789 with the single purpose of revenue collection, the authority of customs outposts has been broadened to enforce the laws. “Although revenue collection is still our main goal, customs officials are now responsible for the enforcement of customs regulations along with those of 40 other governmental agencies,” explained Acting Director of Inspection and Control Peter Sabio. According to Sabio, an average of 20,000 to 25,000 cars pass over each of the bridges daily with peak hours in the early morning and evening as Canadian commuters rush to and from jobs in the U.S. He maintained Th« Canadian Connection 20—25,000 cars cross the bridge daily - Festival East and WBUF Legal searches Every car which passes through customs is subject by law to a vehicle inspection without declaration of probable cause by the officers. However, to conduct any physical search 0/ a motorist, the customs inspector must express a suspicion which would be admissible in court. “Nervousness, nature and time of travel and items found in the car arc all sufficient justification for a more thorough, bodily search,” claimed Sabio. . present AWOL Surprisingly, customs officials routinely nab a host of alleged criminals attempting to enter the country. At least ten or 15 people per week are arrested with outstanding warrants against them. Armed Forces’ AWOL’s are also prime targets for apprehension at the border. He also told The Spectrum that anyone attempting to enter the country with any type of narcotics has committed a number of crimes. “These people are usually in big trouble. Just one bag of pot invokes charges of importation of an illegal substance, possession of a controlled substance, failure to report a possession and false declaration,” related Sabio. For whatever reason people go to Canada, all too many travellers acquire a false sense of security within the limited confines of their cars’ front seats and either fail or refuse to realize that both the United States and Canada have very strict rules governing passage over their borders. “Wise up or we’re gonna get ya,” he warned. BONNIE RAITT The half-hour search conducted in the customs garage revealed nothing for our friends in blue. Once in the garage, we were seated on a church pew in the comer of the room and forced to watch as the two agents pawed through our belongings with smiles all around as an adolescent boy would go through his sister’s virginal underwear drawer. We whispered and made light of their efforts, knowing we had nothing to hide except for a few beer bottles. They even pulled out a medicine bottle full of vitamins causing us a few anxious moments wondering if some premature charges would be placed against us. Finally, the garage door was raised, our ID’s returned, and we were allowed to crowd back into the car. and STEVE FORBERT Tonight FW * I shack! IjL p 642 COLVIN AVENUE r'AS Uwt South «» Kanmore AmJ AR P at the Sheas Buffalo Theater Tickets $8.50, $7.50 | NEED - Models, Male and Female j I for demo hm cuts- MON DA Y'S ONL Y! I Available at The Squire Box Office and at the Shea's Box Office \SPECIAL PRICE $8.00 ___ CALL 875-5930 for Appt. J
