DM took me to the other side of the Organ Mountains. We were going to drive up to the peak of the mountains, but the road was closed. Damn. So, we changed our plan and decided to drive farther across the desert. It was so quiet (and empty) there. I understand why some people love the desert, I think. They love this quietness, apart from noisy, troublesome, modern life. I liked that quiet atmosphere, but at the same time, I felt scared because there's nothing, no food, no gas, no civilization in the desert. What if we run out of gas? What if we run out of food? That kind of idea scared me.
On the way to the nearest town across the desert, we got in trouble. We went through a checkpoint controlled by Border Patrol. What's the hell Border Patrol?! We were not crossing borders, neither national or state. We were just driving across the desert in New Mexico.
Anyhow, there was a long line of cars to pass the checkpoint in front of us. Here came our turn. The officer asked DM, "Are you an American citizen?" and DM answered, "Yes, I am." Yes, he is. Next, the officer asked me the same question. I answered, "No," because I'm not an American citizen, and I didn't need to lie, right? He asked me for documents to show that I'm a legal immigrant. Unfortunately, I didn't carry my passport or I-20 document with me because we were not going to cross national borders, you know. Why do I have to carry those? Then, can you imagine what happened? Yes, we were put aside for the secondary interrogation. Geez.
A few minutes later, a different officer approached our vehicle, and asked me other IDs. I gave him my student ID and driver's license. He also asked me some questions like which country I'm from and which state I'm from. Because I told him I'm Japanese, he lowered a barrier (I guess), and went to check my records. Another few minutes later, he came back, and told us that I was easy to find out because my last name is unique. Well, my name is common in Japan though. He warned me to carry my passport and I-20 document all the time even when I move around in the country. (That's ridiculous and humiliating!) But we found that he was a nice guy with normal sense. I'm glad to know that those officers with authority are not always mind-controlled by the ideology of the (hawkish) dominant group.
Well, it was a good experience because at least I wrote it down in my blog.