S
samsonyuen
Guest
I understand it's a touchy topic, but this specific instance sounds pretty silly to me.
From: www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs...8793972154
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Cellphone picture of naked son prevents entry
Apr. 14, 2006. 01:00 AM
NICHOLAS KEUNG
IMMIGRATION/DIVERSITY REPORTER
A California man who arrived at the Canadian border expecting to become a landed immigrant and join his Brampton wife and children was instead detained, denied entry and cited for attempting to smuggle child pornography into the country on his cellphone.
In a time of heightened vigilance — at borders, and against porn — what had landed him in trouble was a picture of his own unclothed baby son, snapped a couple of years ago so "we could all tease him at his wedding one day," says his wife, Shinderpal Singh.
The 36-year-old mother of two got a call shortly after midnight last Friday from a Canada Border Services Agency officer in Sarnia informing her that her husband, Paramjit Singh, had been sent back to the United States. Paramjit says he was pressured into signing a document withdrawing his application to enter Canada and handed a notice to appear May 1 in a Sarnia court.
While processing Singh's documents, border officials checked his phone and found a photo of a boy naked from the waist down wearing a taraggi — a thread with tiny silver bells worn by Sikh boys as an auspicious charm.
Officers looked through Paramjit's U-Haul truck and found albums containing two other questionable photos, one of son Nevjot, then 3 months old, unclothed in his father's arms, and another taken a couple of years later showing the boy naked after a shower.
The cellphone and photos were confiscated, and the 39-year-old man was cited for possessing and "attempting to smuggle an electronic image of prohibited and obscene material."
Paramjit said officials demanded he sign a document declaring, "I hereby voluntarily withdraw my application to enter Canada and agree to leave Canada without delay." He has since returned to Fremont, Calif.
"I was so shocked," his teary wife said yesterday. "The officer said my husband was charged because of child pornography. I asked him, `What's pornography?' I had no idea what it was.
"I know what photos he was talking about," she said, flipping through albums of photos, some showing their boy unclothed at various events and ceremonies. "I took some of those photos myself. It's just part of our culture and there's nothing unusual about it."
Shinderpal, a landed immigrant, had sponsored her husband to join her in Canada, along with Nevjot, now 5, and daughter Priyinka, 2.
A machine operator, she has been in Canada since 1995. She was introduced to Paramjit, then a chef at an Indian restaurant in Fremont, in 2000 through family connections. The two were married in the United States and both children are U.S. citizens.
Although Paramjit received a green card in 2004, allowing him to stay permanently in the United States, the family decided to settle in Canada. The application was approved in February.
"We had been travelling back and forth for years, and were looking forward to this day when the whole family could finally be together," she said. "My husband is a nice, caring man. We just took those photos for fun. How could something like this happen to us?"
Canada Border Services spokesman Danny Yen said the department can't comment on the case because formal charges have not been laid and the file is not in public records.
Officers have discretion to lay criminal charges if a person is caught smuggling prohibited commodities, he said.
Some would just be turned back at the border by signing a document to withdraw their application to enter Canada, but he said it is effective only "at that time, at that day."
He also said it's common practice to set a court date when a citation of recognizance is issued, and the accused person is still free to attempt entry on that or another day.
Gurmeet Singh, a leader at Nanaksar Satsang Sabha, a Sikh temple in Brampton, said that while the community appreciates Canada's diligence in cracking down on child pornography, officials could have ironed out the problem by meeting with the wife and children.
"The man has a Grade 10 education and speaks very poor English. There could be some misunderstanding. But by signing the paper to force him to withdraw his immigration application, it could have a very big impact on the future of the family," said Gurmeet Singh.
Shinderpal Singh's MP, Colleen Beaumier (Brampton West), has written to the Canadian visa office in Buffalo asking officials to review the case and pleading with them not to withdraw the approved spousal sponsorship.
From: www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs...8793972154
_____________
Cellphone picture of naked son prevents entry
Apr. 14, 2006. 01:00 AM
NICHOLAS KEUNG
IMMIGRATION/DIVERSITY REPORTER
A California man who arrived at the Canadian border expecting to become a landed immigrant and join his Brampton wife and children was instead detained, denied entry and cited for attempting to smuggle child pornography into the country on his cellphone.
In a time of heightened vigilance — at borders, and against porn — what had landed him in trouble was a picture of his own unclothed baby son, snapped a couple of years ago so "we could all tease him at his wedding one day," says his wife, Shinderpal Singh.
The 36-year-old mother of two got a call shortly after midnight last Friday from a Canada Border Services Agency officer in Sarnia informing her that her husband, Paramjit Singh, had been sent back to the United States. Paramjit says he was pressured into signing a document withdrawing his application to enter Canada and handed a notice to appear May 1 in a Sarnia court.
While processing Singh's documents, border officials checked his phone and found a photo of a boy naked from the waist down wearing a taraggi — a thread with tiny silver bells worn by Sikh boys as an auspicious charm.
Officers looked through Paramjit's U-Haul truck and found albums containing two other questionable photos, one of son Nevjot, then 3 months old, unclothed in his father's arms, and another taken a couple of years later showing the boy naked after a shower.
The cellphone and photos were confiscated, and the 39-year-old man was cited for possessing and "attempting to smuggle an electronic image of prohibited and obscene material."
Paramjit said officials demanded he sign a document declaring, "I hereby voluntarily withdraw my application to enter Canada and agree to leave Canada without delay." He has since returned to Fremont, Calif.
"I was so shocked," his teary wife said yesterday. "The officer said my husband was charged because of child pornography. I asked him, `What's pornography?' I had no idea what it was.
"I know what photos he was talking about," she said, flipping through albums of photos, some showing their boy unclothed at various events and ceremonies. "I took some of those photos myself. It's just part of our culture and there's nothing unusual about it."
Shinderpal, a landed immigrant, had sponsored her husband to join her in Canada, along with Nevjot, now 5, and daughter Priyinka, 2.
A machine operator, she has been in Canada since 1995. She was introduced to Paramjit, then a chef at an Indian restaurant in Fremont, in 2000 through family connections. The two were married in the United States and both children are U.S. citizens.
Although Paramjit received a green card in 2004, allowing him to stay permanently in the United States, the family decided to settle in Canada. The application was approved in February.
"We had been travelling back and forth for years, and were looking forward to this day when the whole family could finally be together," she said. "My husband is a nice, caring man. We just took those photos for fun. How could something like this happen to us?"
Canada Border Services spokesman Danny Yen said the department can't comment on the case because formal charges have not been laid and the file is not in public records.
Officers have discretion to lay criminal charges if a person is caught smuggling prohibited commodities, he said.
Some would just be turned back at the border by signing a document to withdraw their application to enter Canada, but he said it is effective only "at that time, at that day."
He also said it's common practice to set a court date when a citation of recognizance is issued, and the accused person is still free to attempt entry on that or another day.
Gurmeet Singh, a leader at Nanaksar Satsang Sabha, a Sikh temple in Brampton, said that while the community appreciates Canada's diligence in cracking down on child pornography, officials could have ironed out the problem by meeting with the wife and children.
"The man has a Grade 10 education and speaks very poor English. There could be some misunderstanding. But by signing the paper to force him to withdraw his immigration application, it could have a very big impact on the future of the family," said Gurmeet Singh.
Shinderpal Singh's MP, Colleen Beaumier (Brampton West), has written to the Canadian visa office in Buffalo asking officials to review the case and pleading with them not to withdraw the approved spousal sponsorship.
