CUSTOMS ABUSE STORIES TROUBLE CONGRESSMAN

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) called on the U.S. Customs Service on Thursday to
stop targeting minority passengers for inspections after he heard emotional
testimony from two women who said they were abused and held against their
will by inspectors. Speaking at a hearing held by a subcommittee of the
House Ways and Means Committee, Lewis said he is frustrated that customs
inspectors do not need permission to detain travelers and do not allow
detainees to call a lawyer. "That the government has such authority over
its own citizens is very troubling," Lewis said. "That such authority may
be exercised in a racially discriminatory manner is very chilling."

But Customs Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the Customs Service strictly
forbids so-called "racial profiling" of passengers. Kelly apologized to the
witnesses who testified at Thursday's hearing and said he has appointed a
special commission to investigate the complaints of racial bias.

In addition, Kelly said he is requiring supervisors to sign off on all
physical searches and changing the agency's policy so that if an inspection
lasts longer than two hours, the inspector will call a person of the
traveler's choice.

"As committed as we are to the fight, I do not want to add civil liberties
to the list of victims," Kelly told the committee. "We will not allow
individual rights to become casualties in the war on drugs."

Janneral Denson of Palm Beach County, Fla., told lawmakers that her rights
did become a casualty in that war.

Denson was nearly seven months pregnant when customs inspectors stopped her
for a drug inspection on her way home from a trip to Jamaica.

Denson said she was pulled aside at the Fort Lauderdale Airport, handcuffed
and taken to a hospital in Miami where she was told she would not be
released unless she drank a laxative mixture and had "three clear stools."

When she refused to drink the laxative out of concern for her unborn child,
"they again handcuffed me to the bed; I laid there that night crying for a
long time."

Her family was never notified about her whereabouts, she said. Her mother
finally found her by calling every hospital in the Miami area. After she
was released, she said she had severe diarrhea and pain for several days.
She started to bleed and eight days later she had an emergency Caesarean.

Her son, Jordan, was born weighing 3 pounds, 4 ounces and had to be placed
in a prenatal intensive care unit for over a month. She is unsure whether
her son will be damaged as a result of being born prematurely.

Amanda Buritica of Port Chester, N.Y., knows only too well what happened to
Denson.

Buritica, who was stopped in San Francisco on her way home from Hong Kong,
said she was forced to take off all her clothes and was told to bend over.

"Then she (the inspector) told me to bend down and she kept kicking my
legs, telling me, 'more, more.' And as she said 'more, more,' she would
kick my legs, until I was on all four," said Buritica, sobbing.

Lewis said he plans to introduce legislation that would make sure that
travelers who are detained are given access to an attorney within 24 hours.

The legislation would require customs inspectors to obtain approval of a
judicial magistrate before someone can be detained longer than 12 hours.