There's the twinge of anxious anticipation crossing a border. The prospect of a potentially lengthy wait, and the uncertainty whether, with luck or lack of it, crossing the border from Canada into the United States will expose one to the misfortune of a nasty encounter with an American border agent whose idea of pursuing his duty is to antagonize and interrogate, not question, someone wishing to enter his country as a casual visitor.

There appears to be a culture of contemptuous discourtesy that pervades this security service branch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. We may be the proverbial kissing-cousins, neighbours sharing a long border with a long history of cooperation and cross-border trade and tourism to the benefit of both countries, but it seems as far as the agents are concerned we are all, regardless of appearance and/or age, possible agents of criminality and terror.

When we cross the border as we have done often over the years, it is with a huge sigh of suspended relief when a decent human being has served their country and mine by treating us as human beings; invariably it is a female agent who extends courtesy to us while pursuing the goal she has been tasked to perform with skill and finesse. 

There are those occasions when we come across agents who seem to feel casually entitled to be inconsiderate and whose idea of carrying out their duties on behalf of their country is to mete out shabby treatment to prospective visitors. In stark contrast to the others of their very same profession whose humanity is far more evident, extending civility to strangers.

There are many U.S. states who depend on tourism and the expendable shopping dollars courtesy of Canadian cross-border activity. They have no hesitation whatever in extending courtesy and authentic friendliness to visitors who come their way. And it is not just because they stand to gain financially, but because they allow themselves to recognize visitors as no different than themselves; curious, amenable to making new acquaintances, appreciative of good manners and kindness. It is a matter of simple reciprocity in our humanity.

It was 79-year-old Ottawan Tony Kelleher's misfortune to be apprehended by one of those border security agents who felt entitled to delay, intimidate, insinuate and attempt to extort him. Mr. Kelleher had no intention of tarrying in the United States; he was en route to see his ailing older brother in Ireland, likely for the last time, anticipating a stopover at Boston's Logan Airport.

Unfortunately, he was delayed in his intended flight by a border agent who informed him he would be required to respond to some questioning before being permitted to follow through on his travel plans. He was "number 20", he was informed, and the delay would be brief. That delay turned into a three-hour ordeal in a small room where he was subjected to an "aggressive and uncaring" U.S. customs officer.

Because Mr. Kelleher, who had immigrated to Canada from his native Ireland in the early 1960s, was seen on the computer to have once been convicted of fraud, given three years' probation and ordered to pay $5,400 in restitution for relief funding (presumably welfare) he received from the municipality of Ottawa during a tough personal period, he was deemed "inadmissible" to the U.S. because he was "an Alien who has been convicted of a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude".

He was offered a "port parole" that would cost him $65 U.S. to allow him to go on to Boston. But his flight had left, and he was unable to arrange an alternate flight that same evening, being informed by the ticketing agent at Air Canada that booking at a later date would save him money. He had already lost several thousand dollars for his aborted flight. Living on a small pension he and his wife struggled to afford his trip to see his sick brother.

Of no concern to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in Washington, D.C., when a local paper's ombudsman took up the case on behalf of the elderly man.