Customs threatens to bar "anti-American propaganda"
Hugh Dellios of the Chicago Tribune reports being asked an astounding question at a border crossing:
"These aren't something against the U.S., are they?" he asked me, suspiciously.
It was my turn to freeze. I had never heard that kind of question when entering the U.S. before, only when entering places such as Syria, Iraq or the Congo. I asked the officer: Is it your job to be censoring information people are bringing into the country?
"Actually, sir," he replied, "if it's propaganda against the U.S., we can prevent it from coming in."
Dellios pursued the issue with Customs, whose spokesman eventually referred him to a statute:
It is 19 USC 1305, a 1913 statute that prohibits written materials "advocating or urging treason or insurrection against the U.S., or forcible resistance to any law of the U.S. . . . any threat to take the life or inflict bodily harm upon any person. . . or any [written material] that is obscene or immoral."
How that equates to "propaganda against the U.S." was not made clear.
Although we usually do not rely on uniformed civil servants to render legal opinions, the fact is that these are the people who have the power and the responsibility to implement this law. They should learn what it covers and what it doesn't cover.
Customs should avoid using the term "propaganda" at any rate. It is an empty pejorative. What is the definition of propaganda? It is written material or a broadcast that expresses a point of view contrary to your own.
4:55:08 PM 
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