The Last Border Crossing

The man behind the counter looked down discreetly at what was typed on the paper he was holding to his chest and said, "That will be $170," to Enric who stood opposite the counter.

"Huh? You've got to be kidding," Enric replied. The man with the large belly and the paper held to his chest like a protected poker was surely joking. At any second would relax his grip on the piece of paper and say, "Naw, just kidding, you owe me 10 bucks for forgetting your Green Card."

Instead his face turned into a scowl and his voice into that of a hysterical kid: "What?! You DON'T believe me?????" It was only natural for Enric to ask to see written proof that the fine for not carrying his Green Card was $170. The cashier booted him from line and sent him careening back toward the row of listless customs agents waiting to greet eager border crossers with vapid stares. One of them could give us an explanation. "You mean you actually knew that you left the country WITHOUT your Green Card?" the agent exclaimed. "Your were actually conscious that you were breaking the law! If you had told us that you had lost your Green Card, we would have only fined you $110." That is the price for honesty.

5 months ago, the US border crossing did not seem like such a big deal. We left a package with a friend that included Enric's Green Card, wedding rings, drivers license and any other valuable that would be useless and risky to take with us through South and Central America. Enric worried about it periodically, "I wonder if I could have the Green Card Fed-exed to Laredo, Texas?" But that did not seem necessary. Unlike Bolivia, Argentina, and every other country where our document information was inscribed in big spiral notebook registers, Enric knew that the U.S. has sophisticated computer systems that kept track of everything and everybody. Easily they would type Enric's passport number and social security in the computer and up would pop his Green Card number along with any outstanding credit card debt, traffic tickets, the makes and models of any vehicles he may own, and even perhaps the names of any pets.

And that is exactly what they did. Furthermore, one US customs agent showed us that Enric's Green Card number had been handwritten inside of his passport. So if they verified the existence of his Green Card, why did he have to pay $170 dollars? Punishment

Welcome to the USA.

We had paid $20 to a police officer in Brazil, another $4 to one in Peru. Central American countries slapped us with $1-$4 dollar entry and exit fees at each border. Added together, these charges don't reach ½ what he paid the U.S. government for forgetting his Green Card. If this is the price for honesty, Enric should have just tried to enter as a tourist!