Customs
Travelling internationally is interesting.
Crossing into Mexico:
On the plane in, we each had to fill out a form with our personal info, where we were staying, etc. And then each household had to fill out a form saying what stuff we were bringing into the country. Once you land, you wait in line and a guy looks at these forms and your passports and then you go to another station where they make you press a button. If the light turns red, they search you and your bag. If it turns green, you are free to go get your checked bag and do stuff in Mexico.
Crossing back into the US:
On the plane, each household has to fill out a form that basically combines the two Mexican forms. Then, when you land, you wait in line for a fancy machine that you stick your passport into and then you electronically answer the same questions you already answered on the form, and then it takes a digital picture of you and prints out a form with your picture on it. So then you go get your checked bag and wait in another line so a guy can look at your hand-written form, your passport, and your computer form, and then he keeps those forms and you are free to go do stuff in America.
It seems pretty clear that "fancy machine" step in this process is just a money-making scheme for the company that makes the computer that can read your passport and take a picture and then print a thing. Because how the hell does that make anything safer, as opposed making things *seem* safer? "You can't sneak into the country because a machine reads your passport and takes a picture, and also touchscreens! It's like we're living in the future!"
Crossing into Mexico:
On the plane in, we each had to fill out a form with our personal info, where we were staying, etc. And then each household had to fill out a form saying what stuff we were bringing into the country. Once you land, you wait in line and a guy looks at these forms and your passports and then you go to another station where they make you press a button. If the light turns red, they search you and your bag. If it turns green, you are free to go get your checked bag and do stuff in Mexico.
Crossing back into the US:
On the plane, each household has to fill out a form that basically combines the two Mexican forms. Then, when you land, you wait in line for a fancy machine that you stick your passport into and then you electronically answer the same questions you already answered on the form, and then it takes a digital picture of you and prints out a form with your picture on it. So then you go get your checked bag and wait in another line so a guy can look at your hand-written form, your passport, and your computer form, and then he keeps those forms and you are free to go do stuff in America.
It seems pretty clear that "fancy machine" step in this process is just a money-making scheme for the company that makes the computer that can read your passport and take a picture and then print a thing. Because how the hell does that make anything safer, as opposed making things *seem* safer? "You can't sneak into the country because a machine reads your passport and takes a picture, and also touchscreens! It's like we're living in the future!"