He was treating me like a criminal
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 15:16:37 PST
From:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/city/990310/2357119.html
Zheng Anderson, an Ottawa lawyer, tells story about being
manhandled by a "racist" U.S. immigration agent while waiting
for a flight at Detroit International Airport.
Zheng Anderson
Citizen Special
I was exhausted from the 13-hour flight from Beijing
and time was running out for me to catch my connecting
flight at Detroit International Airport. The line-ups at the
immigration counter were incredibly long. It was March
7. Northwest 088 was scheduled to depart at noon
and it was now after 11 a.m.
I kept looking at my watch. I was the 12th person in line but
it wasn't moving. I was getting more and more worried.
There were so many people in line. It was taking a long time
for them to be processed because they were mostly
Chinese visitors who didn't understand English.
I thought I was going to miss my flight back to Ottawa so I
turned to the authorities for help. A few feet away I spotted
a U.S. immigration officer who was patrolling the floor. I
told him the line was rather slow.
That is when my nightmare began. It was horrible.
He said: "So what." I was really surprised that he spoke like
that because he was a representative of the U.S. government.
I remained calm. His shoulders came forward and he was right in
my face, shouting: "What do you want me to do?" I couldn't
understand what was going on. I couldn't believe it. I asked
him if they could open another line. He said: "With what?"
I was turning to this person for help and now he was treating me
like a criminal.
He came at me with such speed and power. He grabbed my passport
and my flight tickets and dragged me out of line.
He broke my thumb and it was covered in blood. I started screaming.
I had to yell to get help. He told me I could be arrested if I
kept it up. I asked him on what grounds. He said for "a crime"
and for arguing with him.
He kept threatening me and said I could be detained for the rest
of the day. I kept telling him I was a Canadian citizen and had
a connecting flight to catch but he kept dragging me.
I'm 5-foot 10 and used to be a professional basketball player in
Beijing. I don't cry very easily but I was shaking.
I was so scared.
He probably never expected someone with a Chinese face to speak
back to him. He was probably so used to treating people that way
because the Chinese are known for reacting with modesty and a
smile.
He dragged me to a room and told me to stay put. I asked if I could
speak to the supervisor. He said he was the supervisor. I thought he
was going to hit me. He pointed to the corner and told me to take a
seat.
Everything was happening so fast. I was just trying to gather all
of the information in my brain.
Another officer came over and said he would handle everything. He
said he was going to check it out. I asked to see his name tag
because he had my passport.
I paced the room for about 10 minutes. I considered this an illegal
detainment and prepared myself that they would do something worse to
me. I didn't know how long I'd be there because they told me nothing.
I was thinking about my daughter the whole time. She has Chinese
features and I figured that if I didn't fight back she will suffer
in the future. I had never felt racism before.
He came back into the room and asked me to follow him. He led me to
the back of the longest line at the immigration counter, handed over
my papers, and told me not to make any trouble.
It was as if they were trying to teach me a lesson.
The other officer was standing by a pay phone keeping an eye on me.
I stood in line but it wasn't moving so I stepped out. I didn't want
to give them an excuse to arrest me so I just stood there. I thought
I'd definitely miss my flight.
Moments later, the other officer waved me over to an empty counter,
glanced at my papers and said I could go through. I showed him my
left thumb and told him that his colleague had broken it. He used
the public address system and called for his supervisor.
He took me back to the same room where I had been detained. The
supervisor came out and I told him he broke my finger. He denied it,
turned his back to me and walked away. They gave me back my ticket
and passport and the supervisor said: "Sue me."
I told them I was a lawyer and it wouldn't be hard to do. I walked
away to find gate G-10. I was so angry and I had to phone my husband.
I telephoned him collect and told him to contact (Foreign) Affairs.
The tears were running down my face. I couldn't believe that such a
thing happened to me.
My plane ended up being delayed until 1:15 p.m., so I caught it.
I have lived in Canada for 14 years and have been a citizen for the
past nine. I have treated Canada as my home.
Maybe what happened to me is a sign that despite all the hard work I
have done to contribute to my community and my country, that I am
still regarded as Chinese and that this treatment can come at any
time.
I want everyone to know about this story so they can watch out and be
warned about this bad dog at the door.
It was traumatic. I couldn't sleep for two nights. What gives him
the right to treat me like that?
I would have never been treated like that if I had a white face.
It would be very easy not to fight back and just forget about what
happened but I can't. I was assaulted physically and mentally.
This story must be told so that this doesn't happen to someone else.
(Zheng Anderson has since filed a detailed complaint with Foreign
Affairs and is calling on U.S. authorities to investigate the incident.
She is also demanding an apology.)
Copyright 1999 Ottawa Citizen