Originally Posted by
jeneralist
One of the difficulties in talking about what happens at checkpoints, either those at the real border or those within the 100 mile zone, is that what *usually* happens and what *can* happen are two different things. Part of the difference is based on where you've been thus far in your travels; whether or not you're a citizen; whether or not you're a "local" -- and some is based on what you look like, your body language, your spoken language, etc.
For what it is worth, I've had more issues at airport checkpoints than these land checkpoints. At airport checkpoints:
- Shortly after new policy was implemented last summer (
US-bound passengers may have to switch on mobile phones for security | World news | The Guardian), I was "selected" to go to special location in Frankfort airport to turn on my laptop, tablet and PC
- On different occasions, I've lost a knife and a 4.6 oz toothpaste. The knife because I accidentally left it in my hand luggage. The toothpaste because it was in a 4.6 oz container (there was less than the guideline 4.0 oz of toothpaste left, but since the original container was larger, it was taken).
The US interior checkpoints seem to be concentrating on immigration and drug smuggling. I don't have issues with answering question of whether I am US citizen and those have been pretty easy. Your Arabic flashcard example happened at an airport.
Lots of things *can* happen, but based on my experience, airports have been more troublesome for me than land borders or inland checkpoints.