IBA Friend (Of Ours) Charles Martel Has Trouble Re-Entering the United States

Here is Charles' story:

Due to my considerable stupidity, I recently managed to lock myself out of the US. I went to Florida, and as part of the vacation I planned to travel to Puerto Rico, but then changed to the Dominican Republic. 

Maybe because of that, I left my green card locked in my safety box at home (although I did manage to take my national passport - don't ask why I took one and not the other.) 

Thanks to automatic check-in, nobody noticed I had no way to come back into the country. 

When time came to leave Punta Cana to come back home, I could not board because the airline would not let me do it without the card ... 

After more than a thousand dollars later, which I did not have, and had to borrow, I am back in my beloved US. 

I've lived in this country for 40+ years, on an official visa first, and as a resident later. 

While I was sitting at the hotel in Santo Domingo watching the World Cup and the indescribable mess in the US Southern border, the irony of the situation did not escape me.  

But when I finally managed to get back in the country, legally, I had another surprise. At the annex of hell on earth commonly known as Miami airport, I had another unpleasant surprise. 

Now "residents" are lumped up with all other "visitors." 

In the past citizens and residents were channeled through the same "route," while visitors followed a different procedure. No longer so. 

When close to an hour and a half later I reached the window, I asked the agent about this change. He informed me that about a year ago this change was implemented to guarantee "more efficiency." I chose wise silence over indignation. 

And the new procedure is different indeed. 

First I had to plaster my four right fingers on a screen, then my left thumb, followed by my four left fingers, and then my left thumb. After this they took my picture, and after some rubber stamps on my passport, I was allowed to leave. 

I stopped short of reminding the agent that one of the Boston bombers was a citizen, but again, wisdom and maturity prevailed, as well as my desire go get home. 

love this country, but how far it is from what it was in 1967 ... This is just another Third World country.