“I was pulled aside in a room … and you have to wait your turn to finally be released,” Labbé said. “An hour, an hour and a half, two hours, whatever it is after. Once I was caught in Miami like that for six hours.

“It’s always the same questions, about if I’ve lost my passport, if I’ve been to Japan” I don’t know why Japan, but in their file it was something to do with Japan.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote a letter to Labbé in 2004, saying he had been placed on their watch list after falling victim to identity theft. At the time, the department said there was no way for his name to be removed

There is no process for getting off the list – except

Although Labbé wrote letters to the U.S. department, his efforts were in vain, prompting him to legally change his name.

“So now, my official name is François Mario Labbé,” he said.

“Then you have to change everything: driver’s license, social insurance, medicare, credit card ” everything.”

Although it’s not a big change from Mario Labbé, he said it’s been enough to foil the U.S. customs computers.[cite]

Some things are beyond comment.

more security databases