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by 0xffff2 3442 days ago
Since no one is explicitly saltating it, this only applies to non-citizens, right? What's the process when a U.S. citizen is "taken aside"? I would categorically tell them to fuck off. Do I face jail time instrad of refused entry?
4 comments

US citizens can't be denied entry. They can, however, have their devices seized upon entry, and can enter the country, only to proceed directly into custody, whether CBP or someone else's.
In general, a US citizen can be detained for some time, interrogated and searched in an unpleasant fashion, have property they carry with them seized, and be subjected to (illegal, but it happens regardless) retaliatory prosecution under nuisance-type charges for being uncooperative or for being perceived to challenge the authority of the CBP employee, but cannot be denied entry to the United States.
But you can get added to the no fly list, which is effectively the same thing, as no carrier will take you. (You have to fly to e.g. Canada and cross at a land crossing.)
The blog post we're commenting was written by an American, so that's what happens to citizens. If he was not a citizen, he would not have been let in.
Non US citizens. Ask a lawyer.