#19 A Border Tale from Jail

After 17 months travelling around the United States of America, we finally made it to Mexico and are now travelling down the Baja California. Enjoying the beaches, margaritas and fish tacos, whilst recovering from our horrendous border crossing!

But let us explain what happened, because in this blog we do write about the good, the bad AND in this case, the ugly!

With our pesos changed, car insurance bought and passports ready on the dashboard, we drove to the border at Calexico/Mexicali West, passing the ‘Last US turn before Mexico’ sign. We had reached the point of no return, or so we thought!

Things seemed to go very smoothly on the Mexican side, with the border agent already filling in our visas and no complaints from customs! But with the intention of eventually making it over to Mainland Mexico, Richie then asked for a TIP (Temporary Import permit for the vehicle)! With an American number plate, which is what we have, a TIP is not not needed for the Baja California Peninsula but we wanted to be one step ahead of the game, killing two birds with one stone and saving time later on at the La Paz ferry terminal.

The border employee informed Richie, that the weight stated on our vehicle registration was too heavy and that we needed to go to a different border crossing to get the TIP processed! The idea being to turn around back into the US and take the border crossing at Calexico/Mexicali East; claiming they would do it all for us!

We obediently followed instructions, reentering the USA, and waiting in line at secondary inspections! It was, however, slowly dawning on us that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all!

But what can you do? Being put on the spot, having to make a quick decision is never going to be easy! We were trapped!

The US border officials obviously got suspicious as to why these European travellers got turned around and gave us a thorough inspection: Silverskin and the three of us!

As you know, the extension we had applied for to our US visas was to this day, still pending, and unfortunately did not show up on the US Customs and Border protection’s system!

We were immediately considered to be illegal immigrants and with that, liars! With no explanation about what was about to happen, we were asked to leave our vehicle and were escorted by three officers!

We were taken to a room where we were searched, and all belongings (including buckles and hats) were removed! We waited and waited and waited (which had to be done in silence by the way) until we were finally escorted to a bus! Richie in handcuffs!

It appeared we were going to a detention center!

Again, with no explanations given, we were separated, Richie from the girls (fortunately, Zoe was able to stay with her mummy), and only one statement from the officer was given: “You’re probably going to be in here 2 days, we’ve got 30 cases ahead of you…and, your case is going to be looked at in MANY different ways!” He clearly got a kick out of it!

We were alarmed to say the least! Richie was quick to ask if we could make a phone call and Abigail asked if we could take Zoe’s writing pad and pens in with her.

Our rights were taken away: no personal belongings, no change of clothes, no phone call and no religious materials, apparently! Was this really happening to us?

The next two days were horrific! We slept on the floor and food was given to us (if that’s what you can call it)! We had a water fountain and a toilet which we could share with our fellow inmates!

Although separated, we were physically in the same room, but not allowed to talk to one another! Not even a wave across the hall! Richie learned the hard way, nearly being thrown into a cell!

To say we got treated badly is an understatement! And the worse was yet to come! They tried to break us, leading us to believe that we were liars, telling us that our visa extension had actually been denied! Richie was interrogated time and time again, morning, noon and night, and when they thought he was sleeping, they would shout at the top of their voices, in jubilation: “Who do they think they are? We are going to ship them back to Europe and they’re never going to see their camper again.”

Their tactics and practices to break us were starting to work. We began to seriously doubt whether the application was still pending! Perhaps we’d missed the letter somehow? Maybe we should have checked online again before attempting to leave the country?

But how do you prove any of this now without help or assistance?

We were mentally ready to prepare for the worst!

Every single possible scenario went through our minds, including losing the truck and everything in it (our whole lives, documents, cameras..everything)!

If we were to lose our camper, then where would we go? Would we be separated again? With Zoe and Richie on Swiss passports and Abigail on an English one, and with Brexit and Covid still going on, it could be a possibility!

Or would we simply fly to Mexico and take it from there! They’ll have us right?

One thing we knew was that this whole visa extension was a mistake!

The following two nights played a similar tune:

Every two hours or so, a different officer would call Richie up and get him to answer questions and hear what he had supposedly done wrong:

“You broke the law, now what have you got you and your family into…what were you thinking?”

“One can only stay in the States for six months at a time, even if your stamp says it’s 12 months!!“

”Your visa extension has been denied!“

”I’m done with you, you sit down!!”

Then another officer presented us with two options regarding our deportation.

1. Either we pay our own way (airfare) and they drop us off at the airport, or

2. …if we couldn’t afford it, they would foot the bill but we would lose the chance of ever being able to enter the USA again!

He also made it clear that we would not see the vehicle again! And it was at this point when Richie tried to convince him to change his mind by looking at our blog!

Which seemed to buy some time.

After being made fun of and tossed around like a cat with its toy, it was time for our official interrogation (which was done individually) and speaking of time; 3am on the second night.

We had to swear to tell nothing but the truth or face up to 5 years in prison! The interview kicked off with a curveball: “Where do you live?” A simple question for most people, but in our case a little more tricky as you can imagine.

In Abigail’s interview, she mentioned the appointment we had had back in September in Phoenix when initially applying for our extension and the invitation to have our biometrics done. The officer was surprised. He didn’t even know there was such an office in Phoenix! (And Richie’s interrogator hadn’t even heard of the United Emirates of Arabia which is Richie’s birthplace).

The penny began to drop and our case appeared to be taken a little more seriously!

Richie too, put his foot down, and asked “When did our application get denied?” Another blank expression, the officer couldn’t tell him.

So after almost two days and nearly being deported, our case was finally being investigated, and the next morning, Richie overheard the officers talking, saying “ah… it is pending”. They had to finally admit it!

Things started to move in the right direction. They had now moved us from “illegal immigrants” to just “overstaying our visas”, which isn’t true either! So much for calling us liars!

Anyway, they had to release us, which still took another 7 hours and on parole too! They gave us 7 days to leave the country.

After signing a bunch of papers, and conducting a DNA swab, the doors finally opened… after 52 VERY long hours!

You may be asking what happened to Zoe during those 52 hours!? As uneasy as it was to be stripped away from all things ‘normal’, being in a room with other mothers and children was a great distraction. Zoe had many playmates which was a huge blessing in disguise. As for those men in uniform though, Zoe still gets terrified when coming across a soldier at a military checkpoint!

We are so sorry for putting you through all of this Zoe!

And as for the camper, well we were given an address for the towing company where it was parked! But as it was a Saturday, could not pick it up for another two nights! That meant buying fresh clothes, taking a motel and informing our loved ones of our ordeal!

The first thing we did however, was purchase some real food…a juicy burger across the road!

On Monday morning we took a cab to the towing company (which was 20 miles away) and had to pay a whopping $920 for their services.

The total damage for all this visa malarkey which includes the expense of our initial 10 Year open visa  (now unfortunately cancelled), our application for an extension, motel and taxi fare, along with the cost of the towing services comes to just under $3000.00. But the very worst of it all was the freedom that was taken away! They treated us badly and also now have our DNA!

….and may we remind you that we have done nothing wrong!

We shall see whether we ever return to the USA, but it certainly wouldn’t be an easy ride with us still having to settle matters with the US embassy in our home countries first and of course with another hefty price tag!

Complaints aside, we really must stress however, that our 17 months in the USA have been truly delightful and although this incident has left a bitter taste in our mouths, it is in no way a reflection on the American people we have met along the way and the rich experiences that now remain in our memories and will do so for the rest of our lives!

Up until our exit, we have had a blast and do not regret having started our overlanding adventure in this magnificent country!

Here’s to a new start in Mexico!

Adios Amigos!

 

Thanks for reading and we’ll meat you guys around the world!