TORONTO — Canadian lawyers for George Galloway say a decision denying the British MP entry into the country is arbitrary and should be overturned.Uh, duh. All countries have arbitrary immigration rules. Some people are barred before they arrive, others when they arrive. Just below here I mentioned a trip to London, England last year. Guess what? I was questioned at the airport. I even got the "full meal deal", where I was selected for a bag search and required to provide information on where I was staying, when I was leaving, and asked what I did back in Alberta that made me so willing to go back when my little U.K. stint was completed.
Lawyers are arguing before Federal Court in Toronto today that the judge should allow Galloway to enter the country pending a judicial review.
I never mentioned this before, but almost a decade ago I had a friend barred from entering the United States. She was unemployed, not going to school, was single, and lived with her mother (who she was constantly fighting with). A U.S. Immigration officer at the Edmonton International Airport refused to allow her to visit a friend in Texas because she had no ties to Edmonton and therefore was a risk to go on the lam and live/work in Texas. Even then Alberta was booming, and the odds of a person who couldn't hold a job here finding herself work there was close to nil. Regardless, this guy blocked her trip and put her on a 1-year watch list: her name was flagged and she was not permitted entry to the United States for that period.
Was it completely arbitrary? Of course! So was the barring of the Westboro Baptist Church. Somehow I don't recall rabble.ca's Kim Elliott getting upset over it.
