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Canadians Welcome to the US: CBP

Reports of Canadians detained for hours not true

American border officials in Buffalo are encouraging Canadians hesitant to cross the border to get your passport and make the trip.

Buffalo Field Office official Cheryl Odribino tells us stories of many travelers being stopped and detained for hours are simply not true.  "I want to say that there is a lot of inaccurate stories, that are being told out there.  It's not coming from us, if people would actually come to CBP [Customs and Border Protection], and ask us these types of questions, we would be able to answer those questions."

She says the only people who'll be stopped are anyone committing criminal acts, and any law abiding citizen is welcome into the US.

There's also many inaccurate stories about cell phones being searched.

She adds a law to search cell phones has been in place since 2009.  "For the average person, this really should not be a concern.  On top of that, what I can say, is that CBP nationwide only searches approximately 0.1% of cell phones during cross border travel."

Officials add anyone detained for hours is an asylum seeker attempting to cross between the two countries.

They also say there's only one Canadian in custody in New York State, she was arrested for trying to smuggle someone illegally into the US.
 

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