I recently received a phone call that confused every belief I held about the United States southern border. For 4 years we have heard how easily illegal immigrants were crossing into America. I have heard no stories about how Americans exiting the country until now. What I heard is terrifying.

Scott Johnston is not unlike many Americans. While he is a resident of South Dakota, he spends a significant amount of time residing in Mexico as a full time traveler. On a recent border crossing back into Mexico, Scott was confronted with a terrifying experience by US Border Patrol Agents.

Scott was traveling back to Mexico as he had many times before driving a BMW. His parents were accompanying him as they attempted to drive through the port of entry in Douglas, Arizona. As the family made their way through the lines of vehicles, they were singled out and directed into what appeared to be a secondary search area as an agent motioned for them to stop. Confused as the agent approached the vehicle, Scott remained calm, and kept his hands on the wheel. It was then that the agent began to aggressively grab the door handles of the vehicle in an attempt to open the doors. When Johnston began to question the situation by simply asking “what is going on here?”, another older and white-haired agent began the process of unholstering his duty weapon while maintaining eye contact with Scott’s mother who was a passenger in the car. Unsure of what was taking place, Scott requested a supervisor to come to the scene and his request was denied.

Scott was aventually allowed to proceed through the port of entry where he tells me he was greeted with nothing but smiles and courtesy on the Mexican side of the border. Despite being harassed on the American side, Scott and his family were never even questioned about their citizenship status nor nationality. In fact, the border patrol agents never even asked for their names.

Johnston was able to obtain the names of some of the agents involved in the situation. The agent who initially stopped Johnston’s vehicle initially gave the last name of Quarry. Johnston questioned the name originally by asking if it was the same as the locations in which rock was mined. He was given a confirmation in response. Upon finally speaking with a supervisor Johnston was informed that the officer in question’s name was actually Squieri.

When Johnston was finally able to speak with a supervisor, he was informed that his vehicle had been stopped randomly due to the location in which his vehicle was registered. He was informed that because he possessed North Dakota license plates, he was selected. There are a couple issues with this statement.

1. Johnston’s vehicle has South Dakota not North Dakota plates.
2. Per Johnston, vehicles with South Dakota license plates are among the most common US vehicles in Mexico.

When Johnston was finally able to speak with a supervisor, he was encouraged to file a formal complaint as he was told that the complaint would go to Washington DC rather than to the Douglas Port management staff. Johnston learned that the aggressive officer who had begun pulling on the handles of his vehicle was Officer Rickenberg. Johnston praised the interaction he had with a officer by the name of Montano.

Was Johnston’s situation a 1 off, or is the US CBP actively spending more energy policing Americans leaving the country than invaders entering?

Conveniently, Johnston uses multiple ports of entry into the United States and hasn’t experienced difficulty at any other port. It is worth noting that much of the land surrounding the Douglas, Arizona port is owned by Warren Buffett. Johnston has also stated that the area around the port of entry contains multiple breaks in the border wall.

In fact, a quick google search shows multiple news stories stating that the migrant surge has led to a crisis in the town.

Why legal and lawful Americans are being harassed with threats of violence simply for moving freely remains a mystery. It is clear that the issues plaguing Douglas, Arizona are not being caused by American passage, however that appears to be where the attention of the border patrol has been placed.