1. The probability of your being in a stressful situation without the option to leave is high - you probably arrived via plane, so you can't simply go back, and you don't know the local laws well.
2. You usually know that a customs checkpoint is upcoming.
So, in that case, it's far better to prepare (i.e. don't bring things you don't want searched/compromised) and cooperate.
I was once "detained" whilst going from France to England while the customs official searched my bag.
I complained to the UK immigration and the same customs officier called me back, searched my bag again, and said "unless you agree to withdraw your complaint, we are going to have to continue searching your bag until the train departs and you miss it".
i.e. costing me about £150 in expenses.
As expected, I withdraw it and went on my way.
However I now make a point to record the name / number of custom officials I make a complaint to -- in case they turn out to be jerks like the UK one was.
Everytime this is posted I feel the need to mention to Brits specifically: this does not apply.
"It may harm your defence if when questioned you fail to mention something you will later rely on in court".
Failure to answer can seriously harm your defence and I've heard of people I personally know (though I wasn't in the courtroom) where the prosecution hammered the point that they "came up with a plausible sounding story" after the arrest.
Obviously Border Patrol is not the same as being arrested; but this is an important caveat for the video posted.
Talk to british police. If you feel like lying, keep your story straight or give basic facts.
The right to silence began in England and it's only because of the endless undercutting of rights going on there and the lack of backbone for standing up to this (liberalism is now seemingly a historical footnote for the UK) that it has caveats, the right to silence has still not disappeared entirely.
As even the Wikipedia article on it[1] notes:
> If this failure occurs at an authorised place of detention (e.g. a police station), no inferences can be drawn from any failure occurring before the accused is allowed an opportunity to consult a legal advisor.
The "Don't talk to the police" is not the full point made in that video, it's "Don't talk to the police… until you've spoken to your legal advisor and not without a legal advisor present".
So, *don't talk to the police*, they're not your friends and they don't have your best interests at heart and it's their job to get evidence against you, not yours.
