Good news about traveling with cash.

Pro21

Well-Known Member
#1
TSA has new rules ragarding people carrying cash.

(Dead link: http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2009/11/lambert-incident-leads-to-revised-tsa-screening-rules/)
 
#2
Very Very Important Ruling

What is amazing is this happened in St Louis? A city with several casinos that take large action. It should not be that uncommon for people to have some cash on them at that airport.:joker::whip:

Are there still problems with some southern jurisdictions seizing cash from motorists?:joker::whip:
 

shadroch

Well-Known Member
#3
I've heard the recordings and the Ron Paul supporter was a dick throut the whole thing. Had he simply stated what he ended up saying iafter a half hour, he'd have skated thru.
Now that the TSA can only look for things that are a security concern, do you think its safe to bring a bale or two on a plane.
 

daddybo

Well-Known Member
#7
Pro21 said:
TSA has new rules ragarding people carrying cash.

(Dead link: http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2009/11/lambert-incident-leads-to-revised-tsa-screening-rules/)
Gee, I "might" start flying on the airline again. Well, when they let me keep my shoes on maybe. Good post P21
 

rukus

Well-Known Member
#8
daddybo said:
Gee, I "might" start flying on the airline again. Well, when they let me keep my shoes on maybe. Good post P21
even with this new ruling, i would still not risk taking more than half the 10k limit on my person on a plane. for hassle and personal safety reasons. there are plenty of ppl who still wont follow policy and in addition, i am always paranoid about something falling out of my pockets anyway, especially when emptying pockets on the security line. add to that the fact that there are now several large trans-national bank chains with easy access to ATMs and branches all over, i do not feel the need to "carry".
 
#9
$4700 is a lot of money? I just traveled by air with exactly that amount today.

They can surely turn you over to the local police, who are always at the airport, if they find drugs or some non-threatening contraband on you. That would be a good idea being they are not trained as police detectives and probably couldn't tell crack from Cracker Jack. Nor are they Treasury or IRS agents with qualifications to investigate why someone may have a lot of cash. One of the effects post-9/11 security has had on the public is everybody thinks they're a cop now, everyone from casino cashiers to stewardesses believes they're qualified and deputized to detect crime and enforce laws. These TSA agents are the same GED's who were patrolling the checkpoints before the attacks, just with a better union.

Also, if someone really wanted to do a terrorist attack they could send a bunch of people through the TSA checkpoint with cash and marijuana to distract the agents while the guys with the explosives slip through.
 

johndoe

Well-Known Member
#10
I don't see the aversion to traveling with medium-sized bankrolls. It's pretty easy to fit $20k-$30k (more if the bills are new) in a money belt, and TSA is extremely unlikely to find it.

Putting large cash in your pockets anywhere outside of the casino is foolish, in any case.
 

Pro21

Well-Known Member
#11
A friend was recently hassled in an airport over 7000. The delay caused him to miss his flight. Does anyone have a link to the TSA memo that was sent out telling them not to hassle people over cash? I think it would be a good idea to print it out and carry it when traveling.
 

21forme

Well-Known Member
#12
Pro21 said:
A friend was recently hassled in an airport over 7000. The delay caused him to miss his flight. Does anyone have a link to the TSA memo that was sent out telling them not to hassle people over cash? I think it would be a good idea to print it out and carry it when traveling.
The following was posted on Green Chip a few weeks ago (bold added by me):

Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC

By Stephen Dinan

An angry aide to Rep. Ron Paul, an iPhone and $4,700 in cash have forced the Transportation Security Administration to quietly issue two new rules telling its airport screeners they can only conduct searches related to airplane safety.

In response, the American Civil Liberties Union is dropping its lawsuit on behalf of Steve Bierfeldt, the man who was detained in March and who recorded the confrontation on his iPhone as TSA and local police officers spent half an hour demanding answers as to why he was carrying the money through Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

The new rules, issued in September and October, tell officers "screening may not be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security" and that large amounts of cash don't qualify as suspicious for purposes of safety.

"We had been hearing of so many reports of TSA screeners engaging in wide-ranging fishing expeditions for illegal activities," said Ben Wizner, a staff lawyer for the ACLU, pointing to reports of officers scanning pill-bottle labels to see whether the passenger was the person who obtained the prescription as one example.

He said screeners get a narrow exception to the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches, strictly to keep weapons and explosives off planes, not to help police enforce other laws.

TSA was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to boost screening at airports, but the young agency has repeatedly bumped heads against civil libertarians, who argue officers overstep their authority.

TSA spokeswoman Lauren Gaches said the new "internal directives" are meant to ensure their screeners are consistent. She acknowledged the policy on large sums of cash had changed, but wouldn't provide a copy of either document. She said the directives would not be released unless a Freedom Of Information Act request was submitted by The Washington Times.

"TSA routinely assesses its policies and screening procedures to ensure the highest levels of security nationwide," she said. "Currency alone is not a threat, and TSA does not restrict the amount of currency a traveler may carry through the checkpoint."

TSA had earlier defended the search, though it had criticized officers' abusive behavior.

The ACLU released the September directive because TSA included it in a public court filing, but said when TSA gave it the October directive it was instructed not to publish it.

That second directive tells screeners that "traveling with large amounts of currency is not illegal," and that to the extent bulk quantities of cash warrant searching, it is only to further security objectives, the ACLU said.

The ACLU sued in June on behalf of Mr. Bierfeldt, who was detained after he sent a metal box with $4,700 in cash and checks through an X-ray machine at the airport.

He had the cash as part of his duties as director of development for the Campaign for Liberty, the offshoot group that Mr. Paul, Texas Republican, created from his failed presidential bid.

Mr. Bierfeldt recorded audio of the confrontation on his iPhone, including threats, insults and repeated questions about where he obtained the money.

"Are you from this planet?" one officer told him, while another accused him of acting like a child for asking what part of the law forced him to answer their questions about the money.

"The TSA has stated that their policy is going to change, which is basically what we were after all along," Mr. Bierfeldt told The Washington Times.

Some civil liberties activists speculate that TSA wants passengers to be uncertain about its procedures because it gives more power to the authorities in an encounter.

The new directives don't affect a situation where a TSA officer, in the performance of a regular screening, comes across evidence of illegal activity, such as a bag of illicit drugs.
 
#13
Pro21 said:
A friend was recently hassled in an airport over 7000. The delay caused him to miss his flight. Does anyone have a link to the TSA memo that was sent out telling them not to hassle people over cash? I think it would be a good idea to print it out and carry it when traveling.
How was he carrying it? In the initial story the guy was carrying it in a metal box, which is 100% certain to be opened and inspected. My money is carried in a pouch way down below and I make certain I do not ever set the detectors off when passing bodily through the checkpoint. So in order to find it they would have to physically undress me at random. :eek: Being I am not an attractive female that randomness is not likely to get around to me. Just unlucky I guess.
 

NightStalker

Well-Known Member
#14
There are times when my pal carried

around 15k splitted into couple of bags stuffed under clothes. No one seems to bothered about my cash... He passed away from both old/new detectors without any hassle..

While this happened for just $4700,:confused:
 

johndoe

Well-Known Member
#15
Pro21 said:
A friend was recently hassled in an airport over 7000. The delay caused him to miss his flight. Does anyone have a link to the TSA memo that was sent out telling them not to hassle people over cash? I think it would be a good idea to print it out and carry it when traveling.
I did this. Here are some links, at least the best I could find from their site:

(Dead link: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1848.shtm)
(Dead link: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1847.shtm)

I would also again recommend the use of money belts, and to obviously not put anything in there that could be imaged (chips, etc. - right Flash?) I went through the new x-ray scanners twice recently (including LAS) with >$25k and had no problems at all.
 

21forme

Well-Known Member
#17
NightStalker said:
When passing through x-ray scanner in las, do you put your money belt on conveyer belt?
I keep it on me. I've never passed through the whole-body scanner in LAS. I fly Southwest and have never even seen one at that terminal's security checkpoint.
 

johndoe

Well-Known Member
#18
NightStalker said:
When passing through x-ray scanner in las, do you put your money belt on conveyer belt?
Of course not!

Unfortunately they keep the monitors showing these x-rays hidden from view, unlike baggage x-rays, so I couldn't tell exactly how invisible it was. But certainly invisible enough to not trigger a search, fwiw.
 

WRX

Well-Known Member
#19
Pro21 said:
A friend was recently hassled in an airport over 7000. The delay caused him to miss his flight. Does anyone have a link to the TSA memo that was sent out telling them not to hassle people over cash? I think it would be a good idea to print it out and carry it when traveling.
Here's a repeat of information I posted at that other site.

This is the link to the TSA's Web page on "Currency Reporting:"

(Dead link: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1848.shtm)

The page states, "It is legal to transport any amount of currency or other monetary instruments into or out of the United States." The implication of this, of course, is that it is also legal to transport any amount of currency or monetary instrument within the United States.

This one, "Traveling with Special Items," might also be helpful, as it impliedly says that you can keep your cash on your person, saying, "We recommend that you carry these items with you at all times:"

(Dead link: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1847.shtm)

Here's a link to the ACLU's press release concerning the settlement of Bierfeldt vs. Napolitano, which stemmed from the March 29, 2009 incident in which Ron Paul's assistant was confined for a half hour, rudely interrogated, arrested, and then quickly un-arrested, for carrying cash through an airport:

https://www.aclu.org/national-security/tsa-fixes-search-policy-after-aclu-sues?tab=legaldoc

This gives information on two new TSA directives to its agents, issued in connection with the settlement. The first states that "screening may not be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security." The second states that "traveling with large amounts of currency is not illegal," and that to the extent bulk quantities of cash warrant searching, it is only to further security objectives. These directives appear to supersede the position taken by the TSA in an earlier press release issued while the Bierfeldt case was pending, found here:

(Dead link: http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/st_louis_aclu.shtm)

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate the full texts of the new directives. Top secret, I suppose.

I've printed all three of these Web pages, have copied them at a reduced size, and carry the copies with me together with my cash at all times. (Right in the baggies, see below.) That way, they're immediately available to show TSA agents and "peace officers" if needed.

On a related subject, at McCarran Airport, the security hassle is up a notch. (And coming soon to an airport near you.) Some lines of passengers are now directed to a full body scanner, and get a full patdown as well. You will be directed to take all contents out of your pockets, and put them through the conveyor belt. On protest, you will be allowed to pocket cash and other valuables, and put just your empty wallet or empty pouch on the conveyor belt. However, staff will not volunteer this information. I suggest putting all cash and chips in baggies, and carrying the baggies inside your bankroll pouch. Then before approaching the screening area, take out the baggies, and put only them into your pockets, while putting your empty pouch and wallet in your carry-on bag or coat to go on the conveyor belt. Or look for a line that has no full body scanner. Check your dignity and any hope of receiving basic human respect at the door before you leave home.

There's no way I would ever put cash on the conveyor belt. There have been repeated stories over the years of cash disappearing that way, of diamond merchants having their entire inventories fail to emerge from the machines, and so forth.

When going through a regular metal detector, I've never had any problem leaving money and chips in my pockets. No one has ever said a word. Still, it might be best to wear an untucked shirt or a sweater that conceals the bulge. If you go through the full body scanner, the agents may still insist that you take out the baggies and hold them over your head. So there may not be any way out of the agents seeing that you are carrying a large amount of cash. If you don't want to be flashing your roll to anyone else in sight, you can request a private screening. I've never tried this. I'm not sure which is worse.

By the way, with those machines they can see the size of your schwanzstücke.
 
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