Recently, the tiny Mexican port of San Blas received fairly joyous news. Three fishermen, lost at sea nine months prior, had been picked up by a ship near the Marshall Islands. After almost a year at sea, these modern-day castaways were found, and much jubilation understandably ensued.

Due to be shipped home, they promptly rejoiced. Then they realized that they were going to be shipped home through Hawaii and LAX.

They immediately jumped back in the boat.

This could be seen as peculiar behavior to the non-foreign eye. Some would choose to believe that the recent popularity of Snakes on a Plane might have scared them off. Since they don’t fly, they would be more unsettled by SoaP’s sequel, Bears on a Boat. But that’s neither here nor there. The castaways were scared off by a more mundane matter.

They needed to get visas.

This would spook even Mr. T. The process for getting a visa in order to enter the United States is so convoluted, they could not even find a way to cut through the bureaucracy to expedite the process and send these poor folks home. When the red tape is stretched so tight that it cannot allow the passage of a couple of fishermen who have been at sea for NINE FREAKIN’ MONTHS, you know something needs to go.

Upon arriving in the Marshall Islands, their path became stalled. They were forced to spend a couple of days in the Marshall Islands while their visas were processed. After that, they were allowed to fly to Hawaii. Upon arriving on American soil, Federal Agents boarded the aircraft and enjoined them from getting out of their seats. It had only been nine months at sea; they didn’t need to get up and stretch, anyway. A thorough appraisal of their documents ensued, since, of course, Customs officials have to make sure that the three fatigued, half-starved, jelly-legged poor souls who had just spent nine months at sea were really who they said they were. After authorities verified that these were, in fact, the unfortunate three, they were allowed to descend the aircraft and step on land for only the third time in nine months.

I understand that there are security concerns here, and there should be. But a moderate amount of common sense never, to the best of my knowledge, hurt anyone. Would it have been terribly difficult for government officials to get together, talk for a couple of minutes to allow these guys some breaks so that they could return home to their families? It’s not that hard to expedite people, especially when they look like, you know, they’ve been at sea for almost a year.

Think about how people feel after they are inconvenienced in some way by a long paper-pushing process upon arrival after a long journey. Spend all day in a plane, changing airports and then some guy holds you up for another three hours, you’re bound to get pissed off, even if they have a legitimate reason. Now spend nine months adrift. And have the guy tell you your ticket says “Hernando” instead of “Hernandez.” And now you can’t get in, and are to be sent back. Try not to punch someone.

The Bureaucracy has just gotten too big. So many traps have been placed into it, it has become thoroughly difficult to get anything done.

Like I said, the interest is to stop terrorism. I agree. But impeding a terrorist attack must be balanced with the vested interest to not prevent normal, everyday law-abiding citizens from going through their ordinary lives. Putting up a few security checkpoints is fine; putting up roadblocks is not.

Take international students. Even those who are here legally, on student visas, face an increasingly complex battle to fully participate in American life. Restrictions on off-campus work are understandable.

But now, incoming students cannot obtain social security numbers. My little brother found this out in Austin when he realized that he could not even obtain a cell phone plan without providing, you guessed it, a social security number. He could have called me for advice, but… you know.

Now, my brother doesn’t want much. He wants to go to college at the University of Texas, get his degree and a good education, and then march back to Mexico with better credentials than he could have received otherwise. That’s all he wants of the United States. When the day comes and he has to be bailed out, how’s he going to call his big bro?

I am now in the third year of a happy and mutually beneficial relationship with Verizon Wireless. This union, I might say, could not have been possible without the intervention and aid of my reliable old friend, the Social Security Number. That such a crutch should be denied to an eminently honorable fellow like my brother is beyond me.

All kidding aside, I use this to illustrate a larger point: there is no reason why they couldn’t have cut the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker a break and expedited their return home. There is no reason why they cannot allow an international student the facility of possessing a social security number. I must underscore that I realize that security concerns have increased, and must be paramount to anything else. If anything, security at airports and other places could actually use improvement. However, we must not confuse the need for scrutiny with the desire for impassable roadblocks. Balancing security needs with the free passage of law-abiding citizens should be of paramount importance.

Otherwise, those castaways will be hopping back in the boat very, very soon.

Carlos Maycotte is The Sun’s Associate Editor. He can be reached at cam98@cornell.edu. Tequila Sunrise appears Wednesdays.