CBSA frisked, detained and handcuffed me..

[qwertyguy]

*This is not a question. Just want to share what happened because the event was traumatic and i want to share it with someone. I don't believe the event was racially motivated*

So i am an Indian citizen, living and working in Toronto (and Canada) for the past few years. I got my PR a while back.
I recently got my drivers license and couldn't wait to get out of the city and go on long drives. I rent the vehicle as it's expensive to own, insure and maintain a car in Canada for a new driver. I use rental car from the Pearson airport as you get it cheap and get easy upgrades from that location.
I usually do 1 day trips (on Saturdays, Sundays are for relaxing) where i pick the car in the morning, drive to the place, spend a couple of hours and return the vehicle at night. I do not have lot of friends or relatives here so i am content doing it alone.
It is more about the drive than to visit the place so that is why i do not extend the stay beyond 1 day (also to save money).
So the weather was nice yesterday (20 Jan 2018) and i thought why not make good use of it and drive somewhere. I always book car for the weekend weeks ahead so that i get good deals and cancel it later if i don't want it. I already visited Ottawa, Kingston, Niagara/Buffalo city and so the next on my list was Montreal or Windsor/Detroit. I didn't go to Montreal as it would rain at night and i don't prefer driving when it's raining and so i chose to go to Windsor instead. I know Windsor is not that appealing for a tourist but as i said..i do it mostly for the driving and possibly to go to Detroit...so i grabbed my passport and left.
So i picked up the car from Pearson airport at 10 AM but decided to do a pit-stop at Belfountain/Caledon which was like 50-100 KM from the Pearson airport. I read online that the drive would be pleasant so why not?
After spending some time in that area i left for Windsor at 12 or 1 PM and reached Windsor at 3 or 4 PM. After roaming around and i spent some some time at the riverfront. The Detroit skyline was appealing but I debated if i should really cross the border (because of the entry exit hassle) and see Detroit but i decided to cross the border because why not make use of the US B1/B2 tourist-business visa which i had and for which i had paid like $200...also why not check the city which was made so famous in movies and social media....BIG MISTAKE

I entered Detroit and USA at around 6 PM and the US border officials asked me to park my vehicle as they wanted me to renew my I-94. As i was waiting in the room, they searched through my car. They asked me where i was going so i said i was going to the Casino and just to look around. Honestly i did not intend to go to Casino but last time i gave an honest reply while i was entering Buffalo City few months back, i was questioned multiple times as why i did not have any plans or destination while visiting Buffalo. So this time in order to save some of my time and time of the officers i gave them a reason and a destination and told them the plan was to go to casinos, look around the city and return same day or next day maybe. They found the reason satisfactory and renewed my I-94 and granted me entry.
I roamed around Detroit, drove in different neighborhoods, had dinner at IHOP (because why not) and left for Canada. I entered Canada at 8 or 9 PM and the border official asked me where i lived in Canada and how long had i left Canada. The officer asked me to park my car and i knew the drill. I assumed they suspected me of smuggling iPhones or alcohol or something like that which was understandable looking at the nature of the trip. I parked the car and 4 officers started to search my vehicle. These were the red flags for them

• Guy comes from Toronto all the way to Windsor alone
• Later crosses the border and returns in just 2-3 hours
• Has a rental vehicle
• Before coming to Windsor, he left with the vehicle but makes a stop somewhere (possibly to meet someone)
• Enters US for Casinos but does not go to a Casino
• Spends just few hours (possibly met someone there)

They suspected me of bringing drugs or maybe something worse. Started to ask questions about each and every second that i spent in the car. Started to doubt my reasons.

They were pretty sure that i was bringing in drugs and they couldn't keep me legally so they detained me and read the Miranda rights (you have the rights to remain silent, anything you say will be used...), handcuffed me and frisked me. I started to cry but was co operative and giving them answers and did not question them because i knew they will find nothing and just wanted to get it done as soon as possible..and that was also the reason why i did not ask for a legal aid (i kept that option open if something bad happened).

They started to also ask me questions about advertisement texts which i received from Indian companies and all the pics i received from WhatsApp (messenger application) through friends
They went through my cellphones (One had Canadian SIM card and other had Indian SIM card) and checked my call logs, texts, Internet browsing history and camera album and asked me questions like:

• Are you looking to buy real estate in India? (Yes, because my mother lives there and i want it for her)
• Are you looking for jobs in US? (No but I get offers from US recruiters online who think i am Canadian citizen)
• Are you looking for a missing person? (My roommate didn't show up, was unreachable so we were worried and started to Google stuff but he came back after a day)

They questioned receipts in the vehicle and asked me which exact IHOP i went to.
After waiting handcuffed for about 20-30 minutes, the sniffer dog arrived and they made it sniff me and my car and gave me the green light. They told me that the record of my detention will be maintained and it would pop up if i re-enter Canada and the CBSA officer suspects something. They said the record otherwise wont show anywhere else and not affect my employment although it might cause me some grief while re-entering.

Left Windsor at 10 PM and went back straight to Toronto and took a Taxi to my home. The driver was a fellow Indian and i opened up to him about this incident (easier to share it to a stranger). He was surprised that he did trips like that to Detroit but never faced something which i had.

P.S:

-Sorry for the catchy subject line but I want to get as much response/opinions as possible.
-Sorry for posting this in visitor section but i needed your opinion and this is the only forum which i can think of. The event was so shameful that i could not talk to anyone about it (except the Taxi driver)...friends or parents.
-I don't want to cry racism because i do not think the actions of the officers was racially motivated
-Why are you sharing this? Because for the same reason i shared this to the Taxi driver...don't want to keep this to myself...ALSO PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THIS RECORD CAN HURT ME IN FUTURE IN ANYWAY WHICH I DO NOT KNOW OF

 

[russ6970]

So if you are not saying there was racism involved...why post. Tbh it does look kind of shady that you always take a car from the airport when you live in Toronto. Not saying you did anything, but I can totally understand why you were detained looking at your story.

 

[scylla]

Your question isn't entirely clear. What are you looking to do or achieve?

CBSA does have the right to question and search PRs and citizens who are re-entering the country. There are certain criteria / activities that can make a person's behaviour look suspicious. Unfortunately it looks like your behaviour fell into this category and that's why you were temporarily detained and searched.

 

[Bs65]

Just seems a case of reasonable doubt that you left the country in a rental at 6pm then came back at 8/9pm without having any real reason other than than to eat at an IHOP.

The time of day would not have helped given tourism which was your intent would normally be expected to include a visit during the day for a day, given who really goes to Detroit to drive around in the dark for a few hours as a tourist.

Maybe just bad luck but if I were a CBSA officer and there seemed reasonable doubt about someone’s intentions then extra scruitiny could be warranted, including the handcuffs plus cell phone search.

Just have to put down to experience and despite what the taxi driver said no one situation can be compared as being the same given the taxi driver may have for example had a completely different more plausible reason for a similar trip.

 

[scylla]

Most likely it was drugs they were concerned about. The Ambassador Bridge is used to bring drugs into Canada from Detroit and there have been a number of high profile busts there. Agreed it probably looked extremely suspicious for someone to rent a car in Toronto, drive to Windsor and then spend a few hours in Detroit and return.

 

[Buletruck]

Did you check with the rental company if you could take the car out of Canada? I know that in some cases, rental companies put limitations on where the vehicle can go (I.e Budget Rent a Car in Vancouver won’t let their premium fleet leave BC (including the US and the rest of Canada). The cars are Lo-Jacked and report when you have crossed certain boundaries and they report the cars as stolen at that point (speaking from personal experience). That might be part of the reason for the intensive interrogation.

 

[Bebe1214]

Hi!
Just going to share my experience.

I understsnd how you feel. It can be very scary and intimidating. I went through something similar while driving to the U.S. from Quebec last summer. My bad experience was with CBP and not CBSA. Also, I wasn't detained or handcuffed but it was traumatizing. I'm a Canadian PR as well and my husband was driving me to Philadelphia.


The border is about 3 hours away from our place. Got stopped at the border, was asked to go to secondary. I was going to the US for a month to shadow at a hospital ( I'm a physician). CBP wanted more proof of what I was going to do in the US. After a lot of questioning and car search they decided to not let us enter and send us home. I asked if there was anything we could do as this would be on our records and here's what the CBP oficer says " yea I can cancel your B1/B2 and make sure you never get another one ". That was absolutely unnecessary since both of us were being super polite and cooperative the whole time. Well we got home and called their office. Was asked to return with more documents.

Next day, husband and I drive back to the border and this time they keep us in secondary for another 2 hours. Husband and I are brown. He also has a beard . I don't know if that had anything to do with this but even though we had the right documents we got questioned all over again. We were literally the only ones there for the whole 2 hours. Other people came and left.

We were questioned about family, parents, jobs, siblings, previous visits , immigration to Canada. It was kind of ridiculous. I know they have the right to question anyone entering/ exiti
I know a lot of people would not look at it that way but I was kind of traumatized.

Hope you have a better experience with border crossing next time

 

[steaky]

Your question isn't entirely clear. What are you looking to do or achieve?

CBSA does have the right to question and search PRs and citizens who are re-entering the country. There are certain criteria / activities that can make a person's behaviour look suspicious. Unfortunately it looks like your behaviour fell into this category and that's why you were temporarily detained and searched.

Not just PRs and citizen, any travelers who are re-entering the country.

 

[qwertyguy]

So if you are not saying there was racism involved...why post. Tbh it does look kind of shady that you always take a car from the airport when you live in Toronto. Not saying you did anything, but I can totally understand why you were detained looking at your story.

Can you tell me if the record will interfere in my PR renewal or Citizenship application or in any other way?

 

[qwertyguy]

Your question isn't entirely clear. What are you looking to do or achieve?

CBSA does have the right to question and search PRs and citizens who are re-entering the country. There are certain criteria / activities that can make a person's behaviour look suspicious. Unfortunately it looks like your behaviour fell into this category and that's why you were temporarily detained and searched.

Can you tell me if the record will interfere in my PR renewal or Citizenship application or in any other way?

 

[qwertyguy]

Just seems a case of reasonable doubt that you left the country in a rental at 6pm then came back at 8/9pm without having any real reason other than than to eat at an IHOP.

The time of day would not have helped given tourism which was your intent would normally be expected to include a visit during the day for a day, given who really goes to Detroit to drive around in the dark for a few hours as a tourist.

Maybe just bad luck but if I were a CBSA officer and there seemed reasonable doubt about someone’s intentions then extra scruitiny could be warranted, including the handcuffs plus cell phone search.

Just have to put down to experience and despite what the taxi driver said no one situation can be compared as being the same given the taxi driver may have for example had a completely different more plausible reason for a similar trip.

Can you tell me if the record will interfere in my PR renewal or Citizenship application or in any other way?

 

[qwertyguy]

Did you check with the rental company if you could take the car out of Canada? I know that in some cases, rental companies put limitations on where the vehicle can go (I.e Budget Rent a Car in Vancouver won’t let their premium fleet leave BC (including the US and the rest of Canada). The cars are Lo-Jacked and report when you have crossed certain boundaries and they report the cars as stolen at that point (speaking from personal experience). That might be part of the reason for the intensive interrogation.

The car companies in Pearson airport are cool about taking the cars to US. Also i rent the standard vehicles..nothing premium.

 

[scylla]

Can you tell me if the record will interfere in my PR renewal or Citizenship application or in any other way?

Shouldn't be a problem in any way.

 

[amit2canada]

Can you tell me if the record will interfere in my PR renewal or Citizenship application or in any other way?

I don't think so and you did nothing wrong legally.

But next time you feel like going to Ihop, there is one in Niagra falls on Canadian side

Jokes aside, were you the only one in the car?
If yes, then definitely all the red flags, single guy renting a care from airport, cross the border and return back in few hours with no solid reason of going.

 

[bellaluna]

Sorry to hear about this, OP. I hope you're doing better. I agree with Bs65 it might have been reasonable doubt, and with scylla that they were probably acting on experience.

I'm just shocked that they pulled out the handcuffs even while OP was being cooperative, but then again, it might have been SOP or experience.