Clever and possible, but that sounds like an awful thing to do to a hypothetical government owned phone. I am sure it would void something relevant, unless my boss did it.
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Then they steal the phone out of your checked bags.
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Haha, i wasn’t trying to set anything up. I suppose it’s just more due to how i compose my thoughts. But yes, we’re in agreement 
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Let me guess: He does climate research?
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Consonants are in, now that the US President is BFF’s with Putin.
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Just out of curiosity, what is the security clearance of the average TSA agent?
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Major Asshole.
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That’s okay, he can get a job at CASA, California Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Tu nasa es mi casa.
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I think this was an episode of:
"Whoa-- kind of strange name you got there, son. Gonna have to pull you over."
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I am a US citizen since birth, with a name that many people cannot pronounce. It looks “foreign” I guess, but not so many consonants. I haven’t had trouble coming in to the US, but I have had too many people in the US be suspicious based on my name.
OMG, like when that happens to me? I am soooo valley girl, like right? what do you mean? Oh, my name, like I think it’s Italian or whatever, but that was like generations ago, and the spelling got changed and everything.
I prefer those sorts of people think I’m a ditzy girl and completely ignore me. I’m not a fighter.
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Do you suppose other country security agencies have been loading malware onto phones to inject into the mysterious data vacuum at the border?
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Oh, there probably is; the trouble is that it’s also probably a service OS providers are not allowed to offer.
There are actually quite a few “hidden regulations” in the US.
When was the last time you saw the word “stiletto” used to describe a thin, double bladed knife?
Or the process by which uranium is refined for reactors? Or even how military bases are distributed amongst civilian centers throughout the country?
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I have sort of a different routine. I’m a swarthy befacial-haired person with a funny name, and for whatever reason, they do not tolerate me being dumb. I was also born in Yemen which, as I have actually had to explain to actual ICE agents… does not make me a dual national because A.) A lot of countries, especially Arab ones, do not do birthright citizenship. and B.) Even if they did, 0% of my family is actually from Yemen, I’ve never been back, and have no desire to be Yemeni, no offense to Yemenis (who wouldn’t see me as being Yemeni anyway, because I’m not.) Arabic name does not mean I can’t happen to be born there out of coincidence. None of this is inherently complicated, but to ICE agents who presumably understand that the world is a big place and that not every country has American-style law, it somehow is.
So here, I am, an Arab American natural-born citizen, born in Yemen, with no other citizenship from any other country, staring down the ordeal of trying to get out of the airport with minimal fuss, having to explain to person across the counter that people like me exist, when they ask me what I do for a living.
“I’m a student.”
“What school do you go to?”
“Blahblahblah University/Blahblahblah State.” (Depending on when this was.)
“What do you study?”
*Sigh* “Chemistry.”
*Eyebrow cock* “Chemistry, huh?”
“Yep.”
“What were you doing over there in X?”
“Visiting family?”
“Are your family citizens?”
“My parents are.”
“But not your extended family?”
“Some. It depends on which side of the family.”
It goes on like this for a bit, they ask how much cash I have on hand, and finally send me on my way.
What I found works best, gets me out of there quickest, with the fewest questions, and it’s kind of scary how well this has worked in the past… there is a certain bearing military personnel have. Lots of yessir, nossir, short and sweet answers without filler. When travelling back from the ME, I’m usually on flights with lots of military personnel and contractors, and I’ve tried adopting this style. I’ve been asked if I was in the military,
I smile, “Nosir.”
*Looks at me, looks at my documents, stamps them.*
“Welcome home.”
I have yet to attempt replication, but my thinking was, the more I blend in by demeanor the better. Fastest entry time by far.
Don’t get me started on my entry into Arab countries. Not as bad, which is sad, because they’re not the countries in which I hold any kind of citizenship, but when they see I have an Arabic name, everything becomes about where my dad is from. Fortunately, they respect my US passport more than ICE does.
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“First they detained the scientists, but I was not a scientist…”
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There’s a fairly simple solution to this problem as long as you plan ahead. Before you leave, write down a random password and leave it at work. Make a copy of the random password and put it in your wallet. Wait until you are about to land in the US and change the password to the random password. Flush the piece of paper with the password; turn off fingerprint login. At that point you won’t be able to unlock the phone until you are back in your office. If someone asks for the password, you can truthfully say that you don’t know the password.
For those who like to be prepared, you might want to create a random password like this just in case, never knowing if/when you might need it. It wouldn’t take up much room in your wallet/office.
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Witness how fragile democracy and freedom is when you let its attackers yield fear.
Sweet Baby Jesus!
I almost hesitate to ask, but was there the possibility of there being trouble because they thought that there was even the tiniest possibility that you had a box of actual exploding kittens?
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You know who else persecuted scientists?
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I was detained at the border till I let them touch [REDACTED] but I don’t get a headline for it.
Edited for the feeling
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You could start a thread…
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