First Person Account from Miami Airport

Now that I am back home I feel more comfortable sharing this story, thank you for everyone’s concern. On Tuesday afternoon I flew into Miami and as soon as I got off the plane, before the first escalator towards customs, there were 3 ICE agents. I walked past them and then stopped and watched for a few minutes. They were only targeting brown people and picking them out of the line as they came into the area. Mind you, I fly international about once a month and have made a lot of trips in the last 4 years, I have never seen this.

The agents were in plain clothes, looking real frumpy I might add, and a single badge on their necks with no names on them. I approached one of them and asked if they were ICE and he responded, I don’t have to tell you that. I said, it seems you are racially profiling people and he responded no, we are not. I said, Im sure your family is very proud and turned to walk away. At that point he said, my family is very proud my mother is half Latina and I’ll prove to you that we are not profiling, give me your passport.

This is where everything got scary. They took me down to the basement and the whole time we were walking they were asking me questions about where I was going, where I had been etc. They asked me what I did for a living and I told them I owned a media company. At one point he said to me, my wife is Latina and I looked at him with all of the disgust I could muster.

They then searched my bags with a fine tooth comb, they were clearly disappointed not to find anything on me. Once they knew they had nothing on me they took me up to customs and had me wait. I was then told by a very snippy TSA that my Global Entry had been revoked and I was no longer a Trusted Traveler of the United States because “I refused secondary verification”. I didn’t refuse anything, I asked them to identify themselves and hurt his fascist feelings, that’s why I was targeted. The booklicker didn’t like what I had to say and he used his power to punish me.

At this point I didn’t want to say anything, I just wanted to get out of there so I didn’t argue and left when they allowed me to. I was in Miami for one night and flying out the next day and really didn’t want to get stuck in Miami for any reason. When I arrived to the airport the next morning I was not flagged or screened more but I was informed that my TSA Pre has also been revoked. I kept my phone off, my head down and just bided my time to get on the plane and out of the country I will never again call home.

Everything about that interaction was fear based. They used their power to silence me, and it worked. I wanted to say so many things but I was scared. In that moment I realized that I will not be returning to the US for the next 4 years, if ever again and how deep my privilege really is. All I wanted to do was get back to Costa Rica and I plan on staying here until everyone in this administration is in jail or out of office.

The truth is, I was terrified… I still am. They have so much power over us and they can take everything from us in any moment. Losing flying status titles doesn’t mean anything, those are convenience items that I can certainly live without. It’s the fear that has stuck with me. I’m a blonde haired, blue eyed woman and they had no problem using fear and intimidation to silence me. I spent the next 24 hours on high alert and all I could think about is the absolute fear that so many immigrants in America must be feeling right now.

It makes me so angry and so sad to know that the people who actually make America great, are living in fear. What happened to me was nothing compared to the devastation that so many people are feeling right now. I’m so sorry. That kind of fear and insecurity is going to cause so much pain, nobody should have to live in fear and its happening all over the world. I’ve had PTSD the last 4 years because of the break in, I know what that did to me, and still does frankly. My heart aches knowing that so many people are living this every day just trying to go to work, or get their kids to school. I was on vacation, lucky me. It’s not ok, we have to protect those who cannot protect themselves. What they did was send a message, if you are white, stay quiet and stay out of the way or we will treat you the way we treat them.

I have always tried to use my voice for good, and I’ve gotten it wrong many times and I am sure I will get parts of this wrong too. Some of you are thinking why did you say anything dummy, just keep walking but what the fuck is the point of having privilege if you don’t use it? Would it have been easier and smarter to keep going and mind my own business? Yes. Did less brown people get hassled by our current gestapo that day, yes.

I will not be coming back to the US for the next 4 years, if ever. It might be a drop in the bucket but I will not spend another dime on flights or in airports and I will not be renewing my global entry ever again. I had to sit in that airport with Kristi Noem’s face on every fucking screen threatening people on repeat. If you don’t think the regime is here, you should fly somewhere and see for yourself. Airports have turned into missing children posters and the Trump regime on blast. The end is near.

The Real ID situation, that is 100% intentional so they can separate us. Airports have devolved 10 years in 1 day from the new rules. In the news this week we were told to avoid Newark Airport because it is not safe and yet TSA is getting butchered and ICE are getting raises and harassing the people who are flying. My flight was from Jamaica, exactly how many illegal immigrants are taking vacations in Jamaica right now? Get the fuck out of here. Those agents were there to intimidate, threaten and silence us, and it worked.

What radicalized me? Eric Garner broke my heart and it’s never recovered since. Every unfair death, every horrible video we see, all of that has cracked my foundation slowly over the years. In this current Trump regime it’s too much and too fast to process but I know where I will be putting my time, my voice, my resources and my skills for the next four years.

What’s the point in owning a media company with 50k followers if I don’t use that access for good. I will fight from here because it provides me with a little false sense of security but the reality is if these young kids like Dean Withers and Parker can step up to the fight, so can I. I’m still scared, I’m crying as I write this.

America is on the brink of collapse. I know I am not alone in feeling very conflicted. So many of my friends want to pretend like everything is ok, and that is their journey and right to do so. But y’all, we are fucked if we don’t mobilize immediately. The threat is so real. What I experienced in the grand scheme of things was an inconvenience but the message was clear.

Do not ask questions or we will punish you.

Is this the America you want to live in with your privilege?

Is this who you want to be? Someone who looks the other way because its easier?

When do you think they will come for you?

There’s the story, I’m sure you will all have different feelings about it and you are entitled to those feelings. But if this scares you, as it should, now is the time to do something because it will be you and your family next.