Border guard thought TB warning was "discretionary"

Yesterday we reported that border authorities in Orlando were playing fast and loose with established procedures, often sharing passswords and entering false information into the computer system. It turns out, similar foolishness may have played an important part in what has become the media event of the week: Andrew Speaker, the TB-infected lawyer who took an international honeymoon vacation allegedly in defiance of instructions from the CDC. The AP reported this week that a guard on the Canadian border permitted Speaker to reenter the U.S. last month despite a warning on his compuuter not to do so. In one delicious piece of irony, Speaker’s new father in law, Robert Cooksey, is a CDC microbiologist specializing in TB and other bacteria.

According to the AP, an inspector in Champlain, New York appropriately ran Speaker’s passport against a computer database. A warning popped up on the screen immediately, instructing the inspector to hold the traveler, put on protective gear, and telephone health authorities immediately. For reasons that remain unexplained, the guard believed the warning was “discretionary” and instead waved Speaker through. DHS is investigating, and in the meantime “the border agent who questioned that person is at present performing administrative duties.” According to the border guard union, however, the inspector was not at fault. “Public health issues were not receiving adequate attention and training” within the agency, she told the AP.