Why you shouldn’t tell US border guards you’re in Islamic Studies

[Lucy Goosey]

Why you shouldn’t tell American border guards you’re in Islamic Studies

http://404systemerror.com/why-you-shouldnt-tell-american-border-guards-youre-in-islamic-studies/

Pascal Abidor was riding an Amtrak train from Montreal to New York. (snip)...

A team of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers boarded the train and advanced through each car, questioning passengers. Pascal had made this trip countless times before, so when a customs officer approached him, he didn’t give it a second thought. But Pascal had never met Officer Tulip. After looking over Pascal’s U.S. passport and customs declaration, Officer Tulip asked two simple questions: Where do you live, and why?

Pascal answered that he lived in Canada. He lived in Canada because that’s where he was pursuing a PhD in Islamic Studies.

Next, she asked him where he had traveled in the previous year, and he answered Jordan and Lebanon. He showed her his French passport (he’s a dual citizen) with the “Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan” stamp, and the Lebanese stamp with the little cedar tree on top.

[ellisonz]

1. “I thought I was going to throw up,” he said. “I thought I was going to be sent to Guantanamo Bay.”

Good thing he's not Harold or Kumar

[Suich]

2. What a frightening story!

Thanks for posting, Lucy Goosey!