I stood silently as the customs official swiped my passport through the card reader at his station. He swiped it again then lifted his head and stared at me judgmentally. Turning to his terminal, he began typing frantically. “Is something wrong?” I asked, knowing that something indeed was wrong. “Is it the magnetic strip?”
“No,” he stated tersely. “The computer has flagged you as a sex offender.” He called out something like, “I need an assist,” and a rather large agent quickly approached. “Sir, you need to go to secondary. Follow me.” I did. His imposing size left few options. Plus, where was I to go?
As we walked to a room off the main inspection area — “secondary,” I assumed — I saw a Latino man, perhaps Mexican, tackled to the floor by two or three other agents. I watched as a pair of legs and arms struggled beneath blue jackets. I believe “runner” was the term bantered about.
I should probably make clear at this point that I am not a sex offender. I have never been accused of, tried for, plead to, or convicted of any criminal offense (a few speeding tickets aside), much less a sex offense. What, then, was happening? Perhaps I would find out in the small backroom called “secondary,” a room littered with occupied, plastic chairs, fluorescent lamps and flanked at one end by a raised platform, a dais, manned by several agents, each either flipping through a file; typing, eyes fixed on a terminal; or phone in hand, on hold, waiting to speak with some unseen, unnamed superior, whose word was likely final. In the back, I noticed two other rooms, interview rooms, with their doors cracked. A crying woman sat in one. In the other, an agent walked past the door before pushing it closed. Full Article
The Commodore 64 or TRS-80 model computers are far more intelligent than the morons who pushed and passed IML. Now it is effectively restricting the movement of non-registrant citizens.
Wow this is the effects of the IML that’s was signed into law in secret that no one knows about. It’s sounds like this was a case of mistaken identity, not only does the IML effect all registrants but also innocent people in general, and this can prove Janice’s point about how punitive and unconstitutional the IML is correct me if I’m wrong.
What I find odd about this is the author’s perspective. He knows he’s not a registrant, but denotes every experience related to a registrant and says, “Can you imagine what it’s like to have to deal with this?” He can prove he isn’t a registrant afterwards.
Also, he has no way off of the registry.
The author isn’t cognizant this is the harsh reality of a registrant or that a registrant has varying degrees of offenses as he depicted smuggling little children in from Mexico in his car. What he recounted is great and detailed.
This recounting of events reveals the right to travel freely unmolested isn’t so. It also shows how invasive it is in everyday living as he was “banned” from the YMCA. I hope this is just the start for the author as he is just a the tip of the ice berg – and with an ice berg, the bulk of it cannot be seen above the water.
This brings me back to the “dissemination of information” or the “giving away of privacy”. If the author is a resident of California, then maybe he should institute the use of the California Constitution: Article 1, Section 1 –
”
SECTION 1. All people are by nature free and independent and have
inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and
liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing
and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.
”
There it is. “… inalienable rights… pursuing and obtaining privacy.” Hopefully, that will force the state from recognizing he’s not a registrant. Also, it would be a great test to be removed from the IML. But seeing how he is incapable of being removed from the IML as a free person, then maybe this experience can be used in Janice’s case against the IML, or at least bring about a second case. We do not know what exactly does happen to a registrant after being detained, though. Yet, recounting of events and similar occurrences with other ‘same name and same birth date’ should prompt the recklessness of the government’s employment of the IML or any registry, for that matter.
Why is the real offender’s picture on the article? If he is a California offender, then Megan’s Law is being broken, last I heard. Any time a picture on Megan’s law list is published without official authorization, it is a misdemeanor. It matters not if it is a blog or major news organization.
This is how to prove the overall ineffectiveness and overreach of any type of registry. A system can’t be allowed to exist with so much room for error. Let’s imagine someone had to register for X number of years and then they don’t need to any longer. What happens if the data is not updated? Probably the exact situations faced by the man here and for everyone who has the same name and birthday. Worse yet someone currently registered runs into being flagged but some information about them is incorrect. It is unlikely that they could get the info fixed.
Keeping someone on the registry deliberately whether they are a registrant or not for life is a waste of that person’s life, their time, and effort to live normal lives and it is cruel.
The government has made us all sex offenders. If they had any motives other than creating an underclass of people used to scare the masses then sex offenses would be handled like any other crime.
Pay your time…Pay your debt to society…be allowed to move on with your life.
But this is America…land of the “free” which is strange because no one is free here.
This article really only shows that the government is f*cked up and I am glad to see that others are being abused by the government. Perhaps they will that to someone who have the power to actually do something about it AND actually cares about justice. Of course, that person doesn’t exist it seems.
SO thanks Obama for f*cking us over as one of his final acts after 8 years with IML.
This is nothing buddy, wait until you are denied entry into the majority of countries…
I’m glad this has happened to this guy, and I hope it keeps happening to him. I hope it happens to more and more people. He keeps whining about a solution. The solution is to get rid of these registries. Period!
Until people like him can comprehend this, I will smile bigger and longer each time I read and article like this!!!