Originally Posted by
PukinDog
Well, one doesn't get to retain Global Entry privileges by being "forgetfully" stupid when it comes to basic, easy-to-follow, longstanding importation and declaration rules written clearly and displayed prominently in multiple places. Even if she has the memory of a goldfish, she can still read, and there's no dispute that she knew she was entering the U.S. Everyone with Global Entry knows, and it's stressed, that violating the rules will result in having it taken away.
With the Global Entry privilege goes a higher standard for knowing the Entry rules and when they apply/what to declare. She failed, got caught ignoring them, and so from now on she'll have to enter with those who aren't held to that higher standard.
Yes, you could argue that, although there's a difference between "violating" rules and "ignoring" them, albeit the end result is the same.
Originally Posted by
PukinDog
Seems the other argument goes something like; "People forget things. I have forgotten things myself, ergo this lady just "forgot" the apple and/or the rules, or "forgot" that there are rules, or "forgot" she could read them, or "forgot" the read-able rules apply to her, or "forgot" to how to read entirely. Therefore, the Customs man enforcing Agricultural importation rules and applying penalties for breaking those rules is a big meanie because she just "forgot".
Some might well argue that, although I don't agree that the second proposition necessarily follows from the first.
It's perfectly possible, and consistent with the known facts, to argue that:
a) she genuinely forgot all about the apple, and therefore that it qualified as contraband, until it was hauled out of her bag
b) the customs official was simply doing his/her job
c) she paid the price for her forgetfulness (possible exacerbated by a bit of attitude, though one could hardly expect her to admit the latter to the media)