Several Canadian snowbirds reported they were fingerprinted and photographed at the U.S. border this month when regist ering for their winter stay, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told CBC News is now standard procedure.
Jacquie and Steve Ree of Ladysmith, B.C., arrived at the Peace Arch Border Crossing between Surrey, B.C., and Blaine, Wash., on Oct. 9.
The snowbirds knew they’d have to comply with a new registration requirement for travellers staying in the United States longer than 29 days. So when a CBP officer said they could complete the process at the border, the couple agreed, unaware of what lay ahead.
Jacquie Ree said they were sent to secondary inspection where their motorhome was searched.
“I'm watching them open all our hatches, and we're thinking, ‘Oh my god,’” she said. “They went through our whole RV.”
Ree says she and her husband waited in line for 1.5 hours, only to be t old by a second CBP officer they couldn’t register at the border. But when they were about to leave, a third officer sa id he could register the couple, and proceeded to photograph and fingerprint them for data collection purposes.
“I thought, ‘Jeez, I hope I don’t have anything on my record they’re going to find,’” said Ree, adding that she didn’t.
The c
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