You can't actually be refused at the border if you are a citizen.

You can be detained indefinitely for no reason, even if you're a citizen. Habeas corpus and probable cause don't apply.

Are you referring to the 2012 NDAA? Because that specific provision (that denies habeas corpus under the AUMF) has yet to be tested in court, and is unlikely to pass Supreme Court review.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_search_exception

> The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), ICE-HSI Special Agents, and Coast Guard officers (E4 grade and above) who are all customs officers (those tasked with enforcing Title 19 of the United States Code) with the United States Department of Homeland Security, are permitted to search travelers and their belongings at the American border without probable cause or a warrant.

And the "border" isn't just what you might think of as the border (https://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/fact-sheet-us-co...):

> According to the government, it is a 100-mile wide strip that wraps around the “external boundary” of the United States.

Thus, we have a "constitution-free zone" in the US, where 197 million Americans reside (https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights-constitution-free-zone...). Within this region, the Fourth Amendment is invalid.

If you Google the term "constitution-free zone", you can find numerous articles detailing the experiences various US citizens have had while traveling within the US (with no intention of crossing any national borders) of being stopped by federal agents from one of the groups listed above (CBP, ICE-HSI, Coast Guard) and being subjected to a search in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Also: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/02/electronics-border-...

I understand, but none of what you cite refers to indefinite detention.

That's the border. What if they put him on a no fly list? There are stories of citizens stuck overseas because of that.