Living with 290: Traveling to Cabo San Lucas

My boyfriend and I traveled to Cabo San Lucas as we do every year. After several scans of our passports at us airport we board the plane. He’s is a RSO from 20 years ago which was a *** deal to begin with!! We land in Baja head to Mexican customs we are pulled out of line taken into this little room where they proceed to tell him he is not allowed in the country… They fill out all forms escort us with 5 armed guards back to the same airplane we just arrived on and sent us back to USA.. What the hell is going on? When we arrive to us customs they say have a nice day and they have heard of this happening more and more?? What a way to ruin a 10 day vacation!!!

Got off plane and flew to Hawaii for the week would rather spend my money in the USA anyway!!! As far as I am concerned its over priced there anyway Americans are not safe and they can make rules up as they go!!! Take Mexico and shove it where the sun don’t shine….

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OK, so far as I have read from your comment and others, our passports are flagged by the US government who is alerting the country of destination prior to our visit that we are a threat and should not be allowed into the country. We are effectively being held hostage in the USA by the US government. Our freedom of movement is being taken away.

Our government is now attaching and waging war against us…what do you do when someone is being directly targeting us and threatening us – YOU FIGHT BACK!

The list of countries mentioned on this site that we have been denied entry are:

Australia
Canada
Costa Rica
Mexico
Panama
Thailand

Please add others.

I’m sorry to hear of your troubles. This must be a brand new policy, as I travelled there last May with my wife.

I’ve been a SO since April 2007 on a single misdemeanor charge. I was sentenced to summary probation, which I managed without any hiccups, and my case was expunged May 2010. For our 5th anniversary, my wife and I decided to spend a week in Cabo. When we arrived at the airport in Cabo, I was taken to a little room immediately after my passport was swiped. I was advised that CBP had “flagged” my passport, so Mexican authorities wanted to know more about me. I gave them the details, including where I was staying, how long I was going to be in the country, etc., etc., and after about 10 minutes, my wife and I were free to enjoy our trip!

I noticed in the “International Travel” section of this website, that another SO had a similar problem as you did, and I believe that his trip into Mexico was denied around September of 2013. So clearly, Mexico made a change sometime between the time that I traveled there, and September.

We can thank the Adam Walsh act, and SORNA guidelines, for this mess! Clearly, our Government is hell bent on confining us to the United States, and ensuring that we are unable to travel anywhere else! There MUST be a Constitutional challenge to be found here somewhere…maybe Janice can chime in? If SORNA would stop forwarding our information ahead of our travels, we might actually be able to enjoy a vacation or two!

Having never done this before myself, I’ve been told that a workaround is to cross over into Tijuana using the land border crossing (no passport required), take a cab to the Tijuana airport, have your immigration form stamped there (again, no passport required), then fly to Cabo as a domestic passenger. I’ve never tried it, but I’m under the impression that it does work.

When people aren’t allowed to go on VACATION something is wrong. So are they alerting other countries of murderers, thiefs and people with DUI’s? Same old answer….No

Oy vey, what a dreadful experience. One can only hope that your trip to Hawaii turned out well.

Two things to maybe consider:

1. Any money you spend inside this country is subject to taxes which further fund this scheme.

2. Depending on the length of this trip your boyfriend may have risked being charged with a Failure To Register offense in Hawaii. It is not widely known that many states have a registration requirement for visitors.

http://sexoffenders.ehawaii.gov/sexoffender/faq.html#q15
http://sexoffenders.ehawaii.gov/sexoffender/faq.html#q16

Mahalo.

@joe … The way I read it, correct me if I’m wrong …. When visiting … If you don’t expect to stay more than ten days you are ok, right? And don’t need to register ….

Thank you for sharing. The exact same thing happened to my boyfriend and I on January 4th as we arrived in Baja. We were just about to get our passports stamped when a woman came up and took our passports and us to the little room off to the right. Without saying anything they separate us and walk me back and stamp my passport and inform me that I am free to go if I would like. Seriously?!! Ummmm no, I waited on the couch for over an hour, while multiple officers came in and out laughing and joking around. They decided they were not going to let him enter Mexico. It didn’t matter that my boyfriends mother has had a house there for 10+ years and that we were going to be staying with her. Or that he had been there multiple times in the past few years. We arrived there exactly 1 year since his last trip down there. As for the offense from 1996, they informed him that he could clear it up with his own government. It was a nightmare trying to get me a flight back and I was told over and over that they were doing me a favor by assisting me at all. They also informed me that I was more than welcome to stay for 10 days and fly back on my original return date. When I asked them about finding flights for us from Phoenix to Oakland they told me that they couldn’t help us. It was only their responsibility to get “him” out of Mexico and once we landed in Phoenix we could figure out how we were supposed to get back home to Oakland. There was also a ton of paperwork that they refused to give him copies of. Just as I was about to go upstairs to find a flight home another couple was brought in. Just like us they refused to let him in due to his 1992 offense. I wonder how long this will go on and what the airlines are doing? How can they just bump people off full flights so that they may deport someone?

This may be worth a trip to the Mexican Consulate, preferably in LA. The fact that one has to actually pay for a flight and not get admitted once they arrive, with no notice, is unconscionable.

AT the very least, one should go to the consulate and ask them about the current situation with US registrants. And those that have been going for years and suddenly restricted, frankly, should have a case, even in Mexico.

But with your experiences, I think we need to hit the consulate with a legal question. This is NOT US-specific policy (though I’m damn sure that the US has strong-arm influence behind the scenes in this debacle).

I’m curious as well. I had a Felony Battery Count back in 1996, charged reduced to a misdemeanor 2000 persuant to 17(B) and expunged in 2002. I had summary probation as well. No charges prior or after. I actually just visited Canada. I was let in without any issues. Nothing. Furthermore, I’ve visited the Philippines, other parts of Asia, Dominican Republic and ect ect. I’ve never had any issues. When coming back into the US via Florida, they stopped me once before, but the gentleman just came (supervisor) and said this was ancient history. Now, when I came back into LAX, they are kind of rude, but I simply told them all charges dismissed! When I came into Florida, the gentleman informed me to obtain a redress. Check it out. THey provide you a document. I wouldn’t visit Mexico, but I can understand your concerns.

We don’t really know what the US is putting on the passport for flagging. It might simply say “sex offender,” giving no details, not even the charge. Mexico or other countries might nix some flagged as SOs, but not others — perhaps nixing those marked as child molesters but not those for indecent exposure.

Ome big problem is — who knows? We can’t even see if what is flagged is correct or not. We don’t know if it is general or specific, so we can’t even challenge it. And, is it on the passport, or if it filed with Interpol, and when your passport or card is swiped, the Interpol record comes up?

I will say, I seriously doubt there is anything on it about an expungement, since the federal government doesn’t even accept that it has been expunged.

I’m wondering if you can go to the consulate for whatever country you plan to go to and get a visa in advance. Does anyone know? Because to go all the way there only to find out at arrival that they won’t let you in — that’s horrendous. And you’ve spent a LOT of money on the trip before you ever even take off.

What a farce! This country keeps thinking of ways to harrass it’s free citizen to make some sort of point of moral superiority. Yes, if they have proof someone is engaging in child sexual tourism or any other threat, please detain, investigate, prosecute. But don’t harass people just to make a point, whatever it is. If this isn’t the moral equivalent of warehousing Japenese Americans during WWII, I don’t know what is. Why doesn’t our country stop coddling these corporations and the countries like Bangledesh that harbor the child slave labor camps that make huge profits off of the clothing they make. Why don’t they do that? Well, because our leaders are cowardly and greedy, the public who elects them is too willing to have their attention drawn away to the bogey man.

It would be very helpful if perhaps CA RSOL could put together a concise information about all this. Rather than us blunder into this in the worst of circumstances, we might be able to avoid it, or avoid some of it.

How is this information available at the customs checkpoint? Is it on the passport or card? Or does that system they swipe do some record check of some central file Immigration has that was set up when you apply for a passport? Or??? Is there any way we can even check this information to see if it is accurate? Can we do anything to make them include any expungement with that record — since the federal government does not recognize California expungements? If we can’t, should we carry our expungement order when we travel, or will that make no difference, especially overseas?

Do they have and consider all records, or do they have them going back only a certain number of years? Do they have these records for everyone, or only for registrants? Do they do it only for offenses for which the federal government requires registration, or do they do it for any offense any state might require registration? Or??? (For one thing, many people in California are forced to register for offenses that the federal government does not require registration — would these people be caught by this record check?)

What are they looking into? Other threads say they are fully searched and and computer or other storage device is thoroughly checked, and often everything copied off it, many times a laptop is taken and returned some weeks later after they search everything you ever even did a security erase on –and the delay at customs can take hours. But in this thread, the people are simply talking of being pulled on the side and questioned — questioned about what? What is there to question them about? ARe you questioned alone, or are you questioned with whomever you are traveling with (who might not necessarily even know of your registration, depending!)? At least I can understand a search, in theory to see if you have any kiddie porn or other illegal sexual something, but to question you accomplishes nothing they don’t already know, that you are a registrant.

What do other countries get to see? Is it information from the card, or does that simply pull up a record now on file with Interpol? What information is there with that record, simply say “sex offender,” or does it tell the charge and maybe other info?

Can people get a visa from all the consulates before they go — to make sure they are not turned away after traveling there? Gee, to get turned away would be a horror! Do you have to already have a ticket before you can see such a visa — which could mean you don’t get the visa and now can’t get a refund on possibly a very expensive ticket and other reservations and payments?

Is there anything we can do to reduce, eliminate or avoid this?

I have heard of freedom of information requests. Does anyone know if this can work, so we can find out what’s going on. I’ll apply for one, if I can. I don’t plan on going out of the country myself, just like to know what’s going on.

Why not get a World citizen passport from World Service Authority and only use your US
passport after you return to the USA? The other Question to think about: isn’t it better to go into Mexico via the boarder then fly to your destination anywhere else from Mexico using other than a US passport? Using you drivers license is better than a flagged US Passport isn’t it? Sometimes asking the right questions from the right people and organizations can help greatly.

Some posters mentioned expungement could possibly help with what is flagged on our passports.

I don’t think that’s the case.

It’s definitely not the case for U.S. customs.

My conviction was expunged many years ago and reduced to a misdemeanor, but I still get stopped when my passport is scanned returning to U.S. points of entry.

I’ve travelled to many countries (not Mexico but Asia and Europe) and never had any problem at the destination, but always upon my return to the U.S.

With that said, I’ve not travelled internationally in over a year, and obviously something has happened recently.

My guess is that whatever info is flagged on our passports is now somehow electronically linked with databases in certain other countries.

I wonder if people’s passports remain flagged when they are taken off the registry? People in CA who get a cert. of rehabilitation or people in other states that have tiered registry and eventually come off it?

By the way, I do know from my travel experiences that what is on the passport itself is very vague and limited.

Every time my passport is swiped coming into the U.S. they have me step aside and then customs agents go onto a computer to look up details.

On more than one occasion, the person who swipes my passport told me they can’t see on their computer WHY it’s being flagged, it’s just telling them it is. One time at Newark the lady swiping it said “I don’t know why but your passport is flagged so I can’t let you through. This usually happens when you’ve been convicted of a crime”

She didn’t say anything about a sex offense specifically.

I told her “yeah I was convicted of something 15 years ago”

And she said “oh just tell them how long ago it was and they’ll let you right through.”

I got the impression from her it’s a pretty common occurrence.

Another time when my passport was flagged, some guy who looked like he was in full combat gear took me to a back room and was holding my arm like I was going to be arrested.

A guy on a computer looked at something and said, “he’s ok” and then the armed combat-type guy left.

So they definitely need to check a secondary database beyond what is just “flagged” on the passport to get specific details.

Despite the hysteria over sex offenders let’s not forget these are the same people trying to find terrorists.

At certain places like JFK and Washington they almost seem like all the sex offender flags are just annoying and their real concern is terrorism.

At LAX, however, they act like sex offenders are their top priority and they almost seem MORE focused on that then on terrorism.

I’d be interested to know if the people sent back from Mexico noticed if they scanned your passport and immediately seemed to know you are a SO, or did they seem like they scanned it then had to go into another database?

Finally, the U.S. can’t tell another country who they can and cannot let in. They can share their databases but these other countries need to put policies and procedures into place.

@Joe I understand your cynicism about these boards and what we can accomplish from venting here, but personally I feel if nothing else the sharing of ideas and other experiences here is helpful and I’d DOES make a difference, at least it’s helped me.

Everyone’s info is sent to the destination country, not JUST RSO’s. This information is readily available on the internet regardless. The specific country will flag the RSO’s and do as they wish. Don’t blame the USA for your past.

I think this comes under our freedom to travel. Or at least double jepody I have traveled at least 20 times to Mexico in the last 15 years. I have not been there I 2013 . But I the past had no problem. I am in California and maybe they do not inform SORNA . Just thinking

Interesting the US government knows (tax payer IDs, census, food stamp/welfare rolls, etc) exactly where all the illegal Mexicans are in this country but won’t deport any of them. Or, at least until the timing is right. If the US can keep our “bad people” out of other people’s countries, why can’t the Mexican government keep their millions of illegals out of ours? In case you haven’t heard, the government has an agenda, and it’s not that secret! Unless you have relatives there, if you want to see a bunch of Mexicans all you have to do is open the door. California (and the USA) is over run with them. People are people no matter where you go so you might as well stay in America. If you just want to travel, try the many places that happily took Roman Polanski or that Snow guy that snitched on the NSA.

Stop crying about it, and do something about it. Stop waiting for someone else to do your job. You can start by all of you sending a letter to the ACLU about this subject. Maybe they will listen, or maybe they won’t, but you’ll never know till you all get off your butts.

You all might get more involved with RSOL, send them a few bucks, go to a meeting. Until you do something it isn’t going to get any better. RSOL of Virginia died because not enough people would get off their butts to help. If your allowed to vote, then you should do so. The people that make these laws wont listen to a RSO, but they will listen to a voter.

Has anyone ever gotten a traditional pardon for 243.4a sexual battery. Please let me know because I moved out of state one year to early to get a certificate of rehabilitation. It seems like traditional pardons are hard to get for a person out of state. When I was in California I was exempt from all website exposure but it is different in florida. everybody is subject to the websites. Does California plan on giving any traditional pardons out ever. I have not been in trouble in 13 years after parole. can some one please help me.

I have lived in Tijuana, Mexico before my conviction for about 5 years. I never had to show a passport while crossing into Mexico.
I was stopped a few time at the border going in when their scanners thought something was in my car just said going to my wife’s house. I was on my way.

I only to show a passport card at the border coming back in daily for work.

Found out you can travel up to the first 50 km with travel docs after that you are supposed to get a visa. At the border or airport.

I did go to guadalajara without a visa via domestic flight. Then again I was not an RIO at the time.

Let you all know what happens in 2 years when I am off probation. We plan to move back.

Google “RSOITS” and you will find a paper published on usdoj.gov that explains what is going on behind the scenes. All RSOs need to read this paper to understand what is going on.

What is the substantial difference between this and the fugitive slave laws of two centuries back? Except that it is now a world government based in Washington DC and there is no underground railroad to transport people to a place of safety, like Canada was.