Some recent news articles describe people being detained at the U.S. border for, supposedly, violating the rules of their visas. (See PBS article.) All of the detainees complained that it was never made clear to them why they were taken into custody.
Lennon Tyler, a U.S. citizen, was handcuffed and chained to a bench while her fiancé, Lucas Sielaff was sent to an immigration detention centre where he stayed for sixteen days. He was then allowed to fly home to Germany.
Jessica Brosche, also a German tourist, spent six weeks incarcerated including more than a week in solitary confinement.
A backpacker from Wales, Becky Burke, who had arranged to house-sit for a family in the U.S., spent three weeks in a detention centre before she was allowed to fly home.
Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian who was travelling on a work visa, spent twelve days in detention before being sent home. She said that the conditions of her confinement were primitive and brutal. (The Guardian)
A French scientist heading to a conference was denied entry into the U.S. because border agents found text messages on his phone that were critical of the president. (The Guardian)
In addition, in the last few days I have seen a couple of stories in comment threads that describe inexplicable denials of entry. One woman described how a family member was travelling from Canada to the US to visit her grandchildren, as she often did. The border agent asked her why she was not travelling with her husband. It isn’t clear why, but she was denied entry.
Another woman was asked what she thought of the president. She answered that she didn’t follow politics, but apparently she was not believed and was “red flagged.” She cannot enter the U.S. for four years.
All of this is making it increasingly less likely that I will be able to visit my family in California in the near future. I have already let them know that I will not be visiting in the next few months, but now I’m wondering if I should have been thinking in terms of years, not months. If I were to attempt to visit, and if border agents were to read some of my blog posts or text messages, they would have no doubt about my point of view.
Clearly, they are not interested in freedom of speech or the healthy exchange of ideas. They are not even interested in legitimate visas, apparently. This is some crazy stuff designed to intimidate, and it is working. I feel bullied and scared, and I haven’t even packed a bag yet.
Snowbird of Paradise 
I keep thinking of people that I knew who lived in Blaine and worked in Vancouver, or those that call Point Roberts home…I used to go down when I lived in the lower mainland a lot. it’s got to be concerning….and on top of it all, a sister in Connecticut, that I don’t think I will be visiting anytime soon…a trip to visit relations in Pender Harbour this year and the rest of the Sunshine Coast…
Oh, my goodness. I had not thought about people who cross the border for work on a regular basis. This all must be stressing them to the max.
I know that happens in the opposite direction at that Windsor/Detroit border…something also I hadn’t thought about, I know couple of people that sail, sometimes between the Gulf Islands and the San Juan Islands..I wonder how that works now?
Right! Now I’m wondering too.
If my math is correct you will have to wait 3 years and 318 days….. I am marking the days off of my calendar just because I still can 🙂
Sigh. That’s too long.
True story that happened 2-weeks ago in Florida.
Two Canadians went into the nearby (Republican county) motor vehicle office to transfer the title of a car from one to the other. Sounds like the beginning of a joke and in a way it is.
They carefully checked the website to ensure they had all documents. Upon meeting with the clerk they were told they needed their passports and the latest I-94. One gentleman stated he’d been trying to get into the website and it kept crashing. The clerk said they’d heard that. So he asked what he should do and was told it was his problem.
Not giving in they went to a nearby (Democratic) county and were told they didn’t need passports or I-94 and were out of there in 15-minutes flat with mission accomplished.
So day-to-day issues can become a problem, not just the big issues…
Wow. These issues need to get more publicity. It is a deliberate tactic.
[Note to readers: An I-94 is a proof of legal entry into the United States.]
Yes, and there are more to come I’m sure.
I shake my head.
This treatment has got to be against some international laws. Pure harrassment.
That’s a good question, Lorna. International travel agreements must take months to put in place, so I can’t imagine they can be thrown aside on a whim.
Right? Meanwhile, I’m sorry you are not able to see your family because of our current tyrant.