Constantly being detained/searched/interrogated at airports

I am a Canadian Citizen who has resided in the US under a valid Permanent Resident Alien card for most of my life. I entered the US and got my first "green card" as a toddler. I am now in my 40's. I have a very unique name and to my knowledge, not a single other person in the world has the same name as me. I have never been arrested, have no criminal record and am not politically active in any way.

Recently I have begun traveling internationally on pleasure/vacation trips and have been hassled/detained/bag and body searched every single time. Coming back from Mexico last spring I was detained, then photographed and fingerprinted. Then they took my travel companion into custody and interrogated him about me (my name, how long he’d known me, etc). Eventually they let us go. Upon my return I filed a Travelers Redress Inquiry with US Homeland Security which is only supposed to take 30 to 45 days. It’s been over four months now. Repeated inquiries about what the problem is only result in me being told ”your case is still being investigated”.

Then last week I went to Scotland for a backpacking trip. On the way home, I was detained, interrogated and subjected to a total bag and body search not once but TWICE at the Glasgow airport, first when trying to check-in, then again when trying to board my plane. I was told they were looking for “bomb components”. Security agents also followed me through the terminal.

Can anyone advise as to what a Canadian citizen should do at this juncture? I am seriously worried that my identity has been stolen and that I am being profiled as a terrorist suspect. I’ve done all I can do with the US authorities, they are just stonewalling me. Which agency in Canada might be able to help?

If you reside in the US then it's probably the US records that are the problem. If you're on the terrorist watch list then that can be a problem, but you'd probably be on the no-fly list if you were and it seems as though you can get on the plane.

The problem with sorting these problems is that you never quite know which database is being checked that has the information in it that causes you a problem and frankly sometimes there's nothing you can do if you have the same name and DOB as someone in one of those databases, because the information is accurate.

However the first thing I suggest you do is go to your local PD, get fingerprinted and pay for an FBI CJIS check, if nothing else that will put your fingerprints in IAFIS so that will readily identify you as someone other than the person they're looking for. http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/cjis.htm It's pretty straightforward, just be sure when you get your fingerprints done the FD-258 is legible.

Check with your local PD as to when they do criminal background checks.

CJIS will send you a copy of your record, so if there is one, something has gone seriously wrong somewhere and at that point you can tackle whichever agency it is that has incorrect records.

If their records are accurate (i.e. blank, they will send back the FD-258 with "no record found") then if you get hassled at a POE, ask for CBP to fingerprint you using US-VISIT, it only takes a few seconds at an airport. US-VISIT will interrogate the IAFIS system and you will be identified as you, rather than someone else.

Thinking about it you should have been fingerprinted already if you're an LPR but I think it's still worth checking to see what records they have on you.

Thanks, Steven. I have actually been fingerprinted (and photographed and detained and bag and body-searched) EVERY time I've entered the US. So it's not like they don't have my prints.

Thanks for the info and link to the FBI site. Maybe I'm paranoid, but at this point I'm not sure if I want to cause myself even more problems. In other words, by going to the FBI and giving them my prints, then I add another problem to my "file": So the next time I travel, it will be "Oooh look, there is even an FBI file on this guy too". I know, probably paranoid, but at this point I just don't want to do anything to make it worse.

I guess I was just wondering/hoping that some agency of the Canadian Goverment (maybe the Embassy?) might be able to help me figure out what is going on here...

The only thing they can do is check with the FBI and the FBI will want your prints to run a check so you may as well do it yourself. I can't see how it would have any negative connotations to get it done, but it might stop them from misidentifying you at the POE if your prints are in IAFIS.

Whether or not your prints are in IAFIS depends on what kind of fingerprinting they did at the POE, but I think it only goes to the FBI if there is a criminal offence involved as CBP have their own database. Going through US-VISIT doesn't add you to anything.