United States News
See other United States News Articles
Title: 150 on flight from Mexico allowed to skip customs, leave JFK airport
Source:
NY Daily News
URL Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york ... ms-leave-jfk-article-1.2443629
Published: Nov 23, 2015
Author: Brian Niemietz, Victoria Bekiempis
Post Date: 2015-11-23 15:09:29 by nolu chan
Keywords: None
Views: 1947
Comments: 22
EXCLUSIVE: 150 on flight from Mexico allowed to skip customs, leave JFK airport By Brian Niemietz, Victoria Bekiempis What airheads! Airline and security officials at Kennedy Airport let 150 passengers arriving from an international flight leave the airport without going through customs, the Daily News has learned. American Airlines Flight 1671 arrived at JFK from Cancun, Mexico, at 8:50 p.m. Friday. When the plane landed, passengers walked out of the airport without having their passports or bags checked by Customs and Border Protection, sources told The News. A source familiar with the matter said passengers disembarking the plane “just followed” a gate agent. The security snafu came just two days after ISIS released a video threatening New York City with a terrorist attack. “Some passengers on Flight 1671 did not complete immigration and customs process upon arrival when they were inadvertently directed to the domestic terminal,” American Airlines said in a statement. American Airlines contacted the passengers and directed them to return to JFK for customs processing. An official told The News on Sunday that 144 passengers had returned to the airport and gone through customs. The six that remain are all U.S. citizens, the official said. American Airlines is working with Customs and Border Protection to ensure they “complete the process and to prevent this from happening in the future,” the company also said in the statement. “None of us went through immigration or customs,” a passenger told The News, adding, “There were no signs for customs or anything. The only signs we saw were baggage claim and exit.” The passenger complained Saturday that agents have “been harassing me with phone calls — they’re coming from high-up people at American Airlines, (Transportation Security Administration) and customs . . . . They’re very aggressive.” Another passenger also said that agents had been reaching out constantly. “They’re telling me that I am here illegally, that I’m trespassing!” the passenger said. “They said, ‘If you don’t come in Monday, we’re sending FBI agents to your house.’ ” Both passengers said they had to come from Connecticut to JFK to clear things up. A spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said the agency is “aware of and looking into the incident and is working with our counterparts to resolve it.” The TSA, which screens passengers before they fly, declined comment, while the Port Authority said that the clearing of arriving international travelers is a federal responsibility. The airlines, it said, direct travelers to security areas. With Graham Rayman.
New York Daily News
Monday, November 23, 2015, 4:00 AM
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: nolu chan (#0)
No BIG deal at all. TSA is just following orders from the illegal, alien resident from Kenya that owns the keys to the White House.
They were not "allowed to skip customs and leave JFK airport." Someone screwed up.
And it was 13 passengers, not 150. The article is a mess. 13 Passengers on Flight From Mexico Skipped Customs at JFK, Officials Say
And where did they get 150? There were only 76 passengers on the entire plane. I'll tell you why this happens. There are no consequences for f**ked- up reporting. This article was written by Brian Niemietz and Victoria Bekiempis of the New York Daily News. Will they be fired? Suspended? Demoted? Hell no. They'll get promoted for breaking the story.
[Roscoe #3] And it was 13 passengers, not 150. The article is a mess. [misterwhite #4] And where did they get 150? There were only 76 passengers on the entire plane. I'll tell you why this happens. There are no consequences for f**ked- up reporting. This article was written by Brian Niemietz and Victoria Bekiempis of the New York Daily News. Will they be fired? Suspended? Demoted? Hell no. They'll get promoted for breaking the story. The passengers are required to be escorted from the plane to the CBP area. Someone failed to do that. The article appears to be an accurate report of information provided by a CBP official. A statement by Customs and Border Patrol spokesman Michael Friel is reported to have corrected the original CBP misinformation. There is no indication the NY Daily News reporters will be fired or suspended for reporting the information provided by the Customs and Border Patrol. There is no indication that anyone in Customs and Border Patrol faces action. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/jfk-passport-mistake-13-not-150-border-agency-article-1.2444928 By Victoria Bekiempis The agency charged with monitoring travelers entering the U.S. said Monday it inflated the number of international travelers mistakenly allowed to walk out of JFK without showing passports. U.S. Customs and Border Protection initially said 150 passengers coming from Cancun on American Airlines Flight 1671 left JFK on Friday night without proper scrutiny. But that number was overblown, spokesman Michael Friel clarified Monday. The agency said only “13 of the 76 passengers inadvertently exited through a domestic gate” without going through customs. Ten passengers have since been processed and the three who haven’t been are U.S. citizens, Friel said. JFK and Customs have launched an investigation into how the mistake occurred, Friel added. He said the mixup happened because he was reading from his BlackBerry. That didn’t appease Mayor de Blasio, who blasted the snafu. “I’m very concerned. That is a very unusual incident, but it is absolutely unacceptable,” he said. He added he’s been in touch with the Port Authority, which oversees the New York area’s three major airports.
An accurate report of inaccurate information. Lazy reporting. If CBP reported 150 bypassing customs, the logical follow-up question would be, "150 out of how many on that flight?" "Uh. Let's see. 150 out of 76 passengers". It took TWO reporters NOT to ask this question. They're both fired. The CBP official with the misinformation? Fired. The individual who let them walk out the door? Fired. Then imprisoned for 10 years. Now. After that. Think this shit will happen again? Are we serious or aren't we? Is this all a f**king joke?
Then: Fake but Accurate Now: Inaccurate but Accurate Soon: Because Shut Up
Now, why would you assume about half the passengers were escorted to the correct area, and the other half were escorted to someplace else at JFK? If not the CBP area at Terminal 8, where were they taken? The next question is how did they pick up their bags from an international flight, and then walk through a domestic gate with their bags? I am assuming they did not leave without their bags.
Read carefully. Out of 76 total passengers, 150 bypassed security. Get it? Had the "reporters" asked the question, the responder, by checking the manifest, would have realized there were only 76 passengers on the flight -- meaning it woud have been ludicrous to claim 150 bypassed seurity.
They picked up their bags and someone directed 13 of them to the domestic terminal where they exited without going through customs. The reason for having a separate international terminal is to make it impossible to exit the building without going through customs. Yet some idiot (who won't be demoted, fired, fined, or imprisoned) found a way.
Maybe if you drew him a picture.
I could do a Venn diagram, but even I don't understand them. OK. The Russian letters are the passengers. No, they weren't Russian. The Greek letters are the crew (not Greek). And the American letters are the Americans who forgot their luggage and had it delivered by the airline. What's important to note is where they intersect, which illustrates shut up.
That's not what the reporter was told. The paper reported the information given to them. I doubt that the CBP official informed anyone that 150 of a total of 76 evaded customs and immigration. YMMV.
The reason for having a separate international terminal is to make it impossible to exit the building without going through customs. Yet some idiot (who won't be demoted, fired, fined, or imprisoned) found a way. The bags are not seperated on the apron. Even if some bags were accidentally delivered to the domestic terminal, the probability of it just happening to be the bags of the passengers who accidentally went to a domestic terminal are infinitesimal. As you note, the international terminal is designed to make it impossible to exit the building without going through customs (and immigration). Your conclusion, absent evidence, is that some idiot, without trying, for some reason or other, misdirected 13 passengers to bypass customs and immigration. I do not recall ever picking up my bags and following a tour guide to customs and immigration, much less around customs and immigration. Once the bags are claimed, all roads lead to customs and immigration, by design. There is no explanation of what route these passengers accidentally took.
Correct. The CBP official said only that 150 people evaded customs and immigration. My point was, had either reporter followed up and asked how many people were on the plane, the CBP official would have checked and found that there were only 76 people on that flight. Meaning his figure of 150 couldn't possibly be correct. It was lazy reporting.
I have evidence. It happened. That's evidence. "Even if some bags were accidentally delivered to the domestic terminal" They weren't. All bags were delived to the international baggage carousel. After picking up their bags, 13 people were directed to the domestic terminal, bypassing customs.
Or even, "Was everyone on the plane diverted?" If the answer was NO, follow up with, "So how many passengers were on board."
WHAT happened? WHAT was the sequence of events? What is the evidence?
Can you provide a link to the transcript of the conversation?
Sure you don't want a video?
The reporter, Victoria Bekiempis:
You get that from her résumé? LinkedIn page? She has a "play Misty for me" look.
A source familiar with the matter said passengers disembarking the plane “just followed” a gate agent.
#2. To: nolu chan (#0)
"150 on flight from Mexico allowed to skip customs, leave JFK airport"
#3. To: misterwhite (#2)
They were not "allowed to skip customs and leave JFK airport." Someone screwed up.
#4. To: Roscoe (#3)
"And it was 13 passengers, not 150. The article is a mess."
#5. To: misterwhite, Roscoe (#4)
[misterwhite #2] They were not "allowed to skip customs and leave JFK airport." Someone screwed up.
JFK passport mistake only let 13 unchecked travelers in, not 150: border agency
New York Daily News
Tuesday, November 24, 2015, 5:04 AM
#6. To: nolu chan (#5)
"The article appears to be an accurate report of information provided by a CBP official."
#7. To: misterwhite (#6)
#8. To: misterwhite (#6)
"Uh. Let's see. 150 out of 76 passengers". It took TWO reporters NOT to ask this question.
The agency said only “13 of the 76 passengers inadvertently exited through a domestic gate” without going through customs.
#9. To: nolu chan (#8)
"Now, why would you assume about half the passengers were escorted to the correct area, and the other half were escorted to someplace else at JFK?"
#10. To: nolu chan (#8)
"The next question is how did they pick up their bags from an international flight, and then walk through a domestic gate with their bags? I am assuming they did not leave without their bags."
#11. To: misterwhite (#9)
Out of 76 total passengers, 150 bypassed security. Get it?
#12. To: Roscoe (#11)
"Maybe if you drew him a picture."
#13. To: misterwhite (#10)
Read carefully. Out of 76 total passengers, 150 bypassed security. Get it?
#14. To: misterwhite (#10)
They picked up their bags and someone directed 13 of them to the domestic terminal where they exited without going through customs.
#15. To: nolu chan (#13)
"I doubt that the CBP official informed anyone that 150 of a total of 76 evaded customs and immigration."
#16. To: nolu chan (#14)
"Your conclusion, absent evidence, is that some idiot, without trying, for some reason or other, misdirected 13 passengers to bypass customs and immigration."
#17. To: misterwhite (#15)
My point was, had either reporter followed up and asked how many people were on the plane
#18. To: misterwhite (#16)
I have evidence. It happened. That's evidence.
#19. To: misterwhite (#15)
The CBP official said only that 150 people evaded customs and immigration.
#20. To: nolu chan (#19)
"Can you provide a link to the transcript of the conversation?"
#21. To: misterwhite (#20)
#22. To: Roscoe (#21)
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]