So my mom, a highschool history teacher (by day) for those who didn't know, lead her school's annual field trip today down to Queenston, Ontario and then into Lewiston, New York, to commemorate the Battle of Queenston Heights that took place there in the War of 1812 on October the 13th. This battle was an invasion of thousands of Americans across the Niagara River and was a significant part of the War. If you are further interested in the battle, here is the wiki.

The history department at her school does this field trip every year around the time of the invasion. They take a bus down from Toronto, visit Fort George and Queenston and the Brock Memorial, and then cross the border into the States to visit Lewiston and the fort there. Every year there is always some difficulties getting 40 students with different origins (Toronto is a multicultural city and thus the highschool students are as well) across the border without hassle. This year, however, would prove to be different.

Apparently two weeks ago Mr. Bush secretly racialized visitation rules. My mom and her bus full of students arrived at the border and were greeted by a very hostile border guard who referred to himself as "Officer 1." Officer 1 boarded the bus and began thoroughly searching every overhead compartment, ripping out the contents, throwing them onto the floor and slamming the compartment doors. He then went to the back of the bus and pounded on the bathroom door with his fist, apparently breaking the door.

He then saw two students, both girls, that are of Pakistani origin. Upon seeing them he grabbed them and pulled them to the front of the bus. He told my mother, "You and these kids are off the bus." So they got off the bus. He made the girls take most of their clothes off, standing right there. My mother was horrified, also realizing at this point that she had a gun pointed at her from a nearby guardsman. Officer 1 searched the clothes and then threw them back at them, then saying "All of you get back on the bus." My mother and the two students did. He told the bus to pull over to a side waiting area.

They all waited for forty minutes on the bus until someone got my mom and brought her inside to a room. She was greeted by someone behind a desk who referred to himself as "Officer 2." Officer 2 said, "Why are you trying to smuggle people into the United States?" My mother calmly replied that this was a history field trip, taken every year by her school, where they explore the two forts in the battle of Queenston Heights. I have to give her a lot of credit for keeping her cool in a situation that is obviously stinking, reeking, of racism. She explained, "I don't have to bring my kids across the border, but I choose to anyway so I can show them the American perspective. Don't you think it's a good idea that we teach Canadian students part of the history of your country?" Apparently this softened Officer 2. He then explained that the bus full of students could continue onto Lewiston but that the two girls, as well as her since she's the legal guardian, must stay behind and be "recorded." My mother went back to the bus and told the other teacher to take the kids on to Lewiston.

They took my mother and these two students into a room and fingerprinted all three of them. They then took their mug shots. They then recorded their iris data. After that they had to wait around for a while. My mother talked to Officer 2 who at this point was calmer, at least to her. She asked why the students were even pulled off the bus at all (even though she knew it was their ethnicity.) He had no answer, saying it was Officer 1's choice. She asked why Officer 1 has the power to do something like that, and he said these words: "Our President has changed the rules." She asked what those rules were, and he said "The new PATRIOT Act." ....

After more waiting around Officer 2 called a cab, which brought my mother and the two students back across the bridge into the Canadian border crossing. They then had to go through Canadian customs, which was unsurprisingly hassle-free, before taking another cab into Queenston and waiting until the bus returned to pick them up, as she had given her cell number to the other teacher. Feeling obviously distraught, she had talked a while with the Canadian border guard about what had just happened. The Canadian guard told her that in the last two weeks, since they "changed the rules," this kind of thing is going on constantly. He told her stories that were even worse than hers, like entire busses being impounded, literally sawed apart to bits right there, and the entire busload of people being thrown into jail overnight for no reason. He said the PATRIOT act allows them to do whatever they want without justification, and that's what they're doing. He said the Americans don't want visitors anymore, period. They're slowly closing the border to anything but commercial traffic.

My mother took the two students for lots of ice cream, and then to have some tea, in Queenston while they were waiting for the bus to get back. She tried to make light of the situation. Her words to me over dinner tonight, after explaining this whole story: I am never going into the United States again. If this is what they are turning into, I want no part of it.