Given the sheer number of bags containing sexy knickers and condoms that go through American customs, I find this article hard to believe without a large bucket of salt. I suspect the author has embroidered the truth. If not, then she has a legitimate complaint and should write to the customs top nobs.
When I first went to the US in 1995, a customs official nearly took exception to my (correct) pronunciation of San Pedro (a district of Los Angeles to which I was heading). He was a Spanish speaker himself and thought I was taking the piss, though I didn't realise this until later when I heard my friends pronounce the name San Peedro!
But after the sharp look, he said: "You're English, aren't you?"
This was said to me again in a large supermarket when I asked for full fat, full cholesterol, thick cream (there was none on the shelves). I weighed about seven and a half stone at the time and the guy I asked was more than double that at a guess.
They're funny, these English