The Cathy Harris Story

Courage is that rare trait that requires the unusual strength to do what is right - not what is popular in the face of personal harm and at great risk. Susan B. Anthony had the courage to guide thousands of women through that era of U.S. history when women were treated as second-class citizens despite the threats to her personal safety. Her leadership and courage led to the rights for women to have the right to vote. Courage was Harriet Tubman's only friend as she returned to the plantations of the antebellum south to free people who were scared to live and afraid to die. Speaking truth to power and challenging a government infrastructure that thrives on the ignorance and fear of the people require uncommon courage. That same spirit of determination, courage, and conviction is what keep and sustain Cathy Harris as a modern day suffragist for human rights. She has fought and continues to fight for the rights of international travelers, many of whom are African American women, who have been abused and violated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees and other federal agencies. Like Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman, Cathy has been despised and persecuted for her ideas and her advocacy. As a U.S. Senior Customs Inspector/Officer, she was threatened by management, unjustly disciplined and ostracized by her peers. Although Cathy has continually bore the consequences of her convictions, she continues to press on by bringing to the public's attention the many ways that U.S. Customs and Border Protections (CBP) officials have violated the human rights of international travelers and their own employees. In 1998, Cathy Harris was instrumental in exposing the racial profiling practices of Customs and Border Protection to Congress and to the public. Legislation was introduced and international travelers have more legal protections and stronger avenues of recourse if abused by U.S. Customs officials. The price Cathy has paid has been great In the Federal Government too often those who work for the government are the public's first hope of being protected from practices that harm or violate the rights of - we the citizens. Government entities like the U.S. Customs and Border Protection do whatever they can to discredit people of conscious like Cathy Harris who speak out against unethical and immoral practices. We the American public should take a stand and support Cathy Harris and all her efforts in challenging the practices of the federal government especially the Department of Homeland Security.