U.S. citizen Wilmer Chavarria, traveling on a U.S. passport, was detained at a U.S. port of entry for… no apparent reason. From Lola Duffort at Vermont Public:

What followed, according to Chavarria, who has been a U.S. citizen since 2018, was “nothing short of surreal and the definition of psychological terror.” The educator said he was separated from his husband, Cyrus Dudgeon, and interrogated by multiple agents over the course of four to five hours.

Chavarria said he was asked whether his marriage was real, whether he was really a school superintendent, and questioned about everything he had done while out of the country. And again and again, he said agents demanded that he hand over the passwords to his phone and district-issued laptop.

There’s no explanation of why Chavarria was stopped at the border, nor why they demanded access to his devices. Coincidentally, I’m sure, he’s a gay man from a Central American country.

Chavarria said he’s had students of color ask him in the past whether they should be worried when they cross the border into the United States. In the case of U.S. citizens, he’s always assured them they had “nothing to worry about.”

“Clearly, this is a change for me in my understanding, and now I’m no longer giving that advice,” he said. “From my own experience, I know that they should be worried.”

The article includes this important reminder:

A U.S. citizen cannot be denied entry into the United States because they refuse to give customs officials the passwords to their devices. But that can prolong an individual’s interrogation, and officials can then seize those devices and hold on to them long after someone has left the airport.

Border agents can keep your phone and try intimidating you, but they can’t force you to unlock it—and they can’t prevent you from entering the country. Again, if you’re an American citizen, you do not need to unlock your device just because you were asked to. You can just say no (Nancy would be proud).

Back in April, the AARP wrote 6 Things You Can Do to Secure Your Phone as You Reenter the Country After Traveling. What world are we living in that the AARP is warning its audience of the dangers of traveling to the U.S.?

Grandpa, tell me again about the “sanctity of citizenship”?

The Customs and Border Patrol offered Chavarria one final insult:

For years, Chavarria has been a member of CBP’s Global Entry program, which allows frequent travelers that undergo a special background check expedited clearance at ports of entry. As he was boarding a flight back to Vermont, he received an email notifying him that his permission to be in Global Entry had been revoked.

The reason? He did “not meet program eligibility requirements.”

Pettiness as policy. Slow. Fucking. Clap.