Posted by johnfalicidad on December 10, 2000 at 16:15:56:
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This Saturday, I was crossing the border by foot from Tijuana into the United States. As I have done dozens of times before, I entered the border building and got on the line to re-enter the United States. As usual, when I got to the turnstyle, the border entry guard asked my to declare my citizenship and I said "US". He then waved me through the turnstile. So far everything is as usual. But then as I was leaving the building a man at customs called me over. The customs people were sitting next to this table on the right side as you leave the building. He asked me if I was bringing anything from Mexico and I said no. He then asked to see my drivers license. He then asked me if I had a social security card with me and I said no. He then asked for my social security number which I gave to him. He left with my driver's license for about 10 to 15 minutes and then came back and said I could go. I was wondering if anyone else has had this experience. Do they just pick out people at random to select? Also, this person was a custom's official. The border guard had already acknowledged my citizenship and waived me through the turnstyle. Does the custom's man have any right to check your citizenship? Or was he up to something else? Also, maybe it is just more risky to cross the border early in the morning when these guys have a lot of time on their hands.
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