4/10/2018
Surprisingly and hard to believe, harassment at the airport is not limited to the racial profiling practices of customs towards Black travellers at Miami International Airport. Over the weekend, Shaun King, a Black activist and member of the Black Lives Matter movement was detained at JFK airport, New York, along with his wife and young children after landing from their long, tiring trip back from Egypt. King mentioned that it was clear to him that ICE would have been tracking him since his departure from the United States and awaiting his return. So, he was advised by his attorney prior to leaving for Egypt on how he should react if it happened This was an experience King said that made him become aware of how people of the Muslim faith feel when they are detained at the airport without cause except for their religious belief.
1/15/2018
After approximately two years, there has been one evident change at Miami International Airport in the Customs procedures. Gone are the days when passengers had to join a long queue to speak to a Customs agent prior to leaving the airport or catching a connecting flight. The queuing process is gone, but the racial profiling remains as agents now congregate in groups and, of course, continue to use the same racial profiling tactics as they observe passengers departing with their luggage. This was quite clear with one agent today who was obviously upset that a Black passenger asked him why she was being stopped when so many non-Black passengers were leaving without any notice. He angrily demanded in an intimidating demeanor to know why she had an attitude when she was asking a simple question as to why she was singled out by him. So with Miami International Customs, nothing much has changed in their treatment towards Black passengers.
Is U.S. Customs Racial Profiling Arriving Passengers at Miami International Airport?
Passengers will have an opportunity to always breeze through the Customs check points at Miami International Airport (MIA) without agents ever considering that they could possibly possess items that need to be checked through the luggage scanner. However, such is not the luck of some of the other passengers who do not have any items to declare, state on the form that they have nothing to declare, yet are still directed to the luggage scanner area. It is annoying for these passengers especially when it is evident that this baggage scrutiny area seems to be constantly filled with people of color. No one expects for people of color to be habitually singled out for baggage checks by Customs agents whereas White passengers who are coming from the same Caribbean, Central/South American countries are not considered to be carrying food or any unacceptable items in their luggage. Further, it would be quite unlikely to see Customs agent directing passengers from Europe to the baggage scanner area. The blatant routine of singling out people of color indicates a mistrust for those people simply because they do not fit the all American standards. MIA Customs must implement a justified system that does not always inconvenience people because of their race, color, or visible religious wear.
UPDATE:- 4/3/2016 -since the writing of this post, it appears that there has been some changes at MIA . Last week, it was surprising to see that no one had to wait in line to speak to a Customs agent to be directed to the luggage check area. Let's see how long this process lasts.
