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Coffee, Tea or Handcuffs?
An Australian journalist gets a taste of Department of Homeland Security hospitality
by Steven Mikulan

"Sue Smethurst enjoys traveling. 'It’s one of the things about my job that I absolutely love,' says the 30-year-old Australian, who works as an associate editor for the women’s magazine New Idea. She doesn’t even mind flying. 'It’s one of the great pleasures of the world to be able to turn off your cell phone and be where no one can annoy you.'

"But when her Qantas flight from Melbourne, Australia, touched down at LAX around 8 a.m. on Friday, November 14, Smethurst found herself nightmarishly annoyed — by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Smethurst was supposed to continue to New York and on Monday interview singer Olivia Newton-John. Smethurst had honeymooned in Manhattan last year and was looking forward to a long, free weekend 'having a good walk through Central Park, getting a decent bowl of chicken soup and going Christmas shopping — all those gorgeous New York things.' Better still, her six-hour layover in L.A. would allow her to have lunch with her American literary agent.

“'I had a room booked at the Airport Hilton, where I was going to leave my bags, shower and get a cup of coffee.'

"But first she had to clear LAX’s immigration check-in, which she reached after 20 minutes in line. An officer from the DHS’s newly minted Customs and Border Protection (CBP) bureau studied the traveler’s declaration form Smethurst had filled out on the plane.

“'Oh, you’re a journalist,' he noted. 'What are you here for?'

“'I’m interviewing Olivia Newton-John,' Smethurst replied.

“'That’s nice,' the official said, impressed. 'What’s the article about?'

“'Breast cancer.'

"When Smethurst tells me this, she pauses and adds, 'I thought that last question was a little odd, but figured everything’s different now in America and it was fine.' What she didn’t know was that her assignment and travel plans, along with the chicken soup and stroll through Central Park, had been terminated the moment she confirmed she was a journalist. Fourteen hours later, she was escorted by three armed guards onto the 11 p.m. Qantas flight home.


“'I want to say right off that I adore America and love Americans,' Smethurst says. Still, she remains perplexed and emotionally bruised by what followed in Terminal Four. The CBP agent who read Smethurst’s traveler’s questionnaire took her to a secondary inspection area 30 feet away and told her to wait, then left for half an hour. He returned with additional uniformed staff who, professionally and pleasantly enough, asked more questions.

"What sort of stories did she write? What kind of magazine was New Idea? Where was it published? What was its circulation? Does it print politically sensitive articles? When would her interview appear? Who would be reading it?

“'I laughed,' Smethurst recalls, 'because we’re a cross between Good Housekeeping and People magazine. The most political thing we’d likely print was Laura Bush’s horoscope.'

"The polite interrogation continued. Who was her father? His occupation? Her mother’s maiden name and occupation? What were their dates of birth, where did they live?

"The agents gravely nodded at Smethurst’s replies and left once more, promising to return. When they came back half an hour later, one of the officers offered Smethurst a cup of airport coffee.

“'I thought at that stage something was quite wrong,' Smethurst says, 'so I asked the man with the coffee if there was some problem.'

“'I will tell you when there’s a problem,' he abruptly snapped, according to Smethurst. Then he pointed to a nearby sign:

"Your Silence Is Appreciated ...

Read on at LA Weekly

Thanks Lynn Perry for sending me this.