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Railroaded Unconstitutional Border Searches. My name is Pascal Abador I'm 26 years old
and I'm getting a Ph.D in Islamic Studies from McGill University in Montreal.
My studies have taken me to Yemen, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
[Train sounds]
I was taking a train from Montreal to New York to visit my mother for Mother's Day.
He was approached by a government agent who asked him
to see his passport and asked him some questions.
the agent figured out what he was studying and the where he had been in the last year
and on that basis called himinto the cafe congress he proceeded to take his laptop of
it happens that's fair at she proceeded to show
other
immigration officers
the was on my screen what was on the screen but without showing me
eventually on turned around and i downlaoded off og google image search
of
a a hamas rally
I responded to the immigration
officer
the day
the reason I had these photos was that this is my research
and he was taken off it and are his possessions
the train departed without him and he was stranded at this border outpost has he was taken
into a cell and forced to sit there
after several hours they asked everything about my life and my interest my interest in Islam
and travel to the middle east
the government agents did allow him to enter the country
but not until then I decided to seize these devices and to keep his laptop for an indefinite
period of time eventually when I receive the laptop back I looked at the date opened in
the last opened a couple of files
and based on that I was able to determine that they looked extensively at
my a personal photos
personal saved chats with my girlfriend I knew that my rights had been violated
um and then I would need some help
and
I'm working my goal in working with the ACLU is to prevent this from happening to anyone
ever again
the ACLU and the national association of criminal defense lawyers are bring this lawsuit against
the department of homeland security to protect the rights of all Americans to cross the border
free from intrusive government searches I'm an American citizen
and I don't
believe anyone should be targeted for
for what they studied and what they believe.. with people without a constitution senate the border
they're the government can simply going through all of your paper is an immense personal thoughts
simply because they have in the past way
is not the type of role that really honors the constitutional principles that that we
of this country are proud of standing for.