Just want to hear stories so I can mentally prepare myself for such… hostile… interactions… (Hopefully this never happens to me)
P.S: And before anyone start spamming “Don’t Consent to searches”, remember that that’s a very democracy-centric viewpoint. In some countries you could be jailed for refusing.
Whitey here. I once got stopped by border patrol at an immigration checkpoint on the freeway. They had me pull off to the side, pulled all the shit out from under my seats, out of the door pockets, etc. Opened the trunk and took everything out. Brought a dog over. Then said I was good to go. Took me a little to get everything put back in place.
Last time I was stopped was flying back after taking a solo surf trip to Central America. They just couldn’t handle that I went by myself. Took me into a little room at the airport. Took my boards out of my board bag, emptied my carry-on and suitcase, then tried to grill me about what I had been doing. I had a 5 hour layover, so I wasn’t overly concerned. Just seemed so stupid.
These stories make me think of what a good thing the Schengen in Europe is. Free travel across countries is such a good and significant thing. Prevents these kinds of situations in the first place. I guess not prevent, but significantly reduces.