
Larry Bryant
When personnel at a federal agency choose to forbid entry of a Canadian citizen into the United States for the purpose of accepting an honorarium for his scheduled delivery of a lecture on a public issue of wide-ranging international interest, then we have an agency acting contrary to the best interests of our republic.
TO: Hon. James P. Moran
U. S. House of Representatives
5115 Franconia Road -- Suite B
FROM: Larry W. Bryant
3518 Martha Custis Drive
Alexandria, VA 22302
DATE: September 9, 2005

Because of the ill-advised actions of U. S. Customs officials, Mr. Cameron has incurred unnecessary travel expenses, public humiliation, and a sense of uncivility on the part of officials who should know better. I therefore ask that you seek from the U. S. secretary of Homeland Security a prompt reimbursement of Cameron's financial loss in this matter, along with a formal letter of apology from the secretary.
Beyond this particular case of U. S. governmental intrusion into international discourse and the free exchange of ideas/opinion/dissent looms a systemic menace to the body politic: why should the Department of Homeland Security feel so threatened by a fellow North American's message on such a vital public issue as to impose travel restrictions upon his delivery of that message; and why should we U. S. citizens tolerate this imposition when it interferes with our First Amendment right to receive (and act upon) the content of any Canadian researcher's message?
As you help me seek remedial action in the Cameron case, I ask that you introduce legislation to prevent its recurrence -- and thus to halt in its tracks the spread of this totally un-American policy/practice. Your failure to so act will send an unacceptable message to our fellow Americans: it's okay for our government to look the other way when illegal aliens from Mexico flood the U. S. job market, but not when an occasional researcher from Canada dares admit to being invited to "Mexifornia" for the purpose of lecturing on a controversial issue and being paid an honorarium for doing so.
Please process and record this e-letter (a signed printout of which is being snail-mailed to you) as my written permission to share its contents with anyone of your choice.
LARRY W. BRYANT
Copy furnished to: Grant Cameron
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