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Unsafe for foreigners (or well anyone) to travel to US catchall thread

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www.theguardian.com

Irish woman detained by US immigration released after 17 days in custody

Cliona Ward, who has lived legally in US for decades, was returning from trip to Ireland when held over criminal record from 20 years ago
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
An Irish woman who was detained by US immigration authorities because of a criminal record dating back almost 20 years has been released after 17 days in custody.

Cliona Ward, 54, who has lived legally in the US for decades, emerged on Wednesday from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility at Tacomain Washington.


After visiting her sick father in Ireland she had been detained at San Francisco airport on 21 April, causing an outcry in Ireland and the US and a campaign for her release.

Last week a California judge agreed to an application for the original convictions to be formally overturned in a manner that would be recognised at a federal level, paving the way for her release, according to Ward’s lawyers.

...

Ward is originally from Dublin and moved as a child to the US where she obtained a green card, attended the University of California, in Santa Cruz, now works for a non-profit, pays taxes and cares for a chronically ill son who is a US citizen, according to Holladay.

A criminal record for drug possession and misdemeanours from 2007 and 2008 was expunged at state level but not federal, which put her in the crosshairs of Donald Trump’s crackdown on documented as well as undocumented immigrants.

Earlier this year Ward accompanied her stepmother to Ireland to visit her father, who has dementia, and upon returning to the US was stopped at Seattle airport on 19 March and held for three days.

She was released to obtain documentation about the partially expunged convictions and presented them to Ice officials at San Francisco airport on 21 April, after which she was again detained, said Holladay.
 
US Citizen in this case.

www.usermag.co

Hasan Piker detained at the border and questioned for hours over politics

+ TikTok clout loop, Kai Cenat's next chapter, the "safest white boy", Minecraft marriages, group chat trauma, a MAHA-friendly food app, Altman's kitchen fails, and Silicon Valley's existential crisis
www.usermag.co www.usermag.co

Hasan Piker, the biggest progressive political streamer in America, was detained by Customs and Border Protection for hours of questioning upon returning to the U.S. from a trip to France this weekend. Piker posted about the incident on X and later talked about it on stream.

He was detained in Chiago and questioned for two hours about protected journalistic activities like who he’s interviewed and his political beliefs. He was asked whether or not he’d interviewed Hamas, Houthis, or Hezbollah members. He was questioned about his opinions on Trump and Israel and asked about his history of bans on Twitch. His phone and laptop were not confiscated.

"They straight up tried to get something out of me that I think they could use to basically detain me permanently,” Piker said on stream following the incident. “… [the agent] kept saying stuff like, do you like Hamas? Do you support Hamas? Do you think Hamas is a terror group or a resistance group?”

“I kept repeating the same statement over and over again,” Piker said. “I kept saying... I'm on the side of civilians. I want the endless bloodshed to end. I am a pacifist. I want wars to end… which is insane because up until this moment. If you were to say as an American citizen, you stand 10 toes down with Hamas, or you stand 10 toes down with the Houthis, they can’t deny you entry into the country for that shit.”

“DHS flagging and detaining one of the U.S.’s largest left-wing voices for their political opinions while the Trump admin suggests they might suspend habeas corpus does not portend well for the future,” said lawyer and content creator Alex Peter.
 
uncmba said:
This stupid plan to harass and threaten visitors to our Country is so beyond the pale that I can’t understand it. Why? Millions of people who want to come and spend their money here. See how great our Country is. Do we still want Foreigners to admire the US and want to work with us or do we believe that threats work better?
Click to expand...

Isn’t this what our enemies would like?
 
After U.S. President Donald Trump took office, sociologist Travers — who goes by one name — nixed plans to attend the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) conference in Seattle this November.

Travers, a full professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., is the president-elect of NASSS. But as a trans person, they are wary of visiting the U.S. at a time when the Trump administration is rolling back transgender rights.

" will not be travelling to the United States right now because it feels very dangerous to do so," said Travers.


The sociologist soon realized the problem was widespread: around 40 per cent of NASSS's 600 members live in Canada, and many of them reported that they, too, don't want to attend the Seattle conference, due to reports of increased scrutiny at the U.S. border, Trump's trade war and his threats to annex Canada.

"If we were to just hold the conference in Seattle, it would be significantly under-attended," Travers said of the annual conference, where NASSS members meet and share research about the sociological study of sport.

Because breaking the venue contract would be cost-prohibitive, organizers came up with a creative solution: a pared-down Seattle conference with an added tandem one in Vancouver. Some events will take place in both locations, courtesy video conferencing.




...


Sociologist and NASSS member Nathan Kalman-Lamb also had an incident at U.S. customs in March at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport, as he was heading to a conference at the University of South Carolina.

The Canadian citizen says despite having all the right documentation, including an invite from the university, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer interrogated him and searched his possessions, including his phone and wallet.


"To be subject to these kind of searches and the seemingly arbitrary authority of basically police officers in these spaces, it's beyond disquieting. It's frightening," said Kalman-Lamb, an assistant professor at the University of New Brunswick.

Three hours later, he said, the officer allowed him to continue on his journey. However, by this time, he had missed his flight and had to rebook it. He said no one explained why he had been targeted, so he's sworn off U.S. travel for now.

"I don't even think for research I can justify at this point taking the risk of travelling to the United States," he said.

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Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN), an association for work-family scholars, announced in April it has relocated its 2026 biennial conference from Boston to Montreal. The conference typically attracts 400 to 500 participants from across the globe.

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The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans is relocating its 2025 Canadian Employee Benefits Conference from San Diego to Canada. The exact dates and location have yet to be announced.

The foundation, an educational organization for the employee benefits industry, declined to comment. But a statement posted online last month suggests the conference, which hosts up to 1,500 Canadians, was moved due to travel concerns.

"We believe this move will enable us to educate more attendees," said the statement.

If conference organizers continue to choose Canada over U.S. venues, it could be a boon for the Canadian economy, says non-profit conference manager Heather Dow, who has organized more than 100 conferences and events since 2012.

"If you think of a conference that might have 300 participants, that could be a boost into the economy of $500,000-$600,000 or more," said Dow, senior manager with Events & Management Plus in Kingston, Ont.
 
www.loudersound.com

Texan psych-Americana band Lord Buffalo forced to cancel European tour after Mexican drummer Yamal Said is "forcibly removed" from flight by US Customs and Border Protection officers

Lord Buffalo: "We are devastated to cancel this tour, but we are focusing all of our energy and resources on Yamal’s safety and freedom"
www.loudersound.com www.loudersound.com

Austin, Texas psych rock/Americana band Lord Buffalo have been forced to cancel their scheduled European tour at the 11th hour after their drummer was "forcibly removed" from their flight to Holland, and taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection officers.

The band were set to begin their first-ever run through Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Finland this week with Swedish psych, kraut, post-rock and doom rockers Orsak:Oslo, beginning on May 15 at the Oefen Bunker club in Landgraaf, Holland, but have now had to abort the tour due to their drummer's shock detention.

In a statement posted on social media today May 14, the band say: "We are heartbroken to announce we have to cancel our upcoming European tour. Our drummer, Yamal Said, who is a Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States (green card holder) was forcibly removed from our flight to Europe by Customs and Border Patrol at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Monday May 12. He has not been released, and we have been unable to contact him.
 
A Canadian woman says she missed an awards ceremony for her dad in Brazil after being denied entry to the United States because she apparently needed a U.S. visa.


Ontario resident Nur detailed her stressful experience dealing with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and United Airlines on TikTok.

“I’m a Canadian citizen and I was stopped from entering the U.S., even though there are no requirements for a visa,” she explained in the two-part video.

...
Nur, who holds Canadian and Brazilian passports, had booked a flight with United Airlines for Monday, May 5, from Toronto to Brazil, with a layover in Washington, D.C.

Prior to this instance, she had always had a smooth experience travelling between Canada and the U.S.

According to federal government guidelines, most Canadian citizens don’t require a visitor, business, transit or other kind of visa to enter the U.S. from Canada.


...

Canadians only have to register with the American government if they plan on visiting for more than 30 days. This new rule was implemented in April.

Nur says she would have been in Washington for just an hour and a half waiting for her connecting flight to Porto Alegre, which is why she was confused about the situation.

“It doesn’t make sense why I wasn’t allowed to go in,” she questioned in the TikTok.


“I wonder if it was because of my name, if it was because of my looks, if it was because it’s the first time I’m going to [Washington], or if it’s because I’m going to Brazil, but it definitely wasn’t because of a visa because I do not need a visa.”
 
Nathan Kalman-Lamb writes about U.S. college football, and he travels to the U.S. often for work.

But the University of New Brunswick sociology professor and author says he won't go back.

In January, he was denied entry — without explanation — when trying to board a flight from Montreal to Washington for an event for his new book.


He later obtained a formal visa by undergoing a vetting process by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security and tried again two months later.

This time he was detained and questioned for three hours and eventually missed his flight.

...

His experience comes as no surprise to Nicole O'Byrne, who has been fielding a lot of calls about similar concerns since Donald Trump became U.S. president and started going after universities and his critics.

She's an associate professor at the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law, and president of the Canadian Law and Society Association, which meets twice a year to discuss legal issues of interest.

The association's next event is scheduled for June in Saskatoon. O'Byrne has been flooded with inquiries from Canadians living in the U.S., who are nervous about attending in person. She has been advising them to join remotely instead.

...


"You're kind of in a Charter-free zone," she said. "You really have no rights in a border area. What we're used to with respect to due process, with respect to warrants, whether or not you have the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure — that does not apply at borders."

She said there are border services agents acting more and more with impunity, and travellers have no clear avenues of redress if their rights are violated.

"Our constitutional protections take a long time to build, and as we're seeing in the United States, not that long to destroy," she said. "So if the rule of law is not already dead in the United States, it's definitely on life support."

...

Kalman-Lamb said he has recently turned down opportunities to visit Ohio State University and the University of North Carolina, where "college football is a major sport on campus."

It's not a decision he takes lightly and not one without consequences either.
 
I read this and thought it applied here, a Reddit thread where a woman details her son’s (an 19 y.o. American citizen) experience going through customs at Dulles, where he is detained and asked about his political beliefs & social media posts/likes. (It starts as a request for help when he doesn’t respond for hours after landing.)

 
www.politico.eu

Trump tanks EU business travel to America

Large decreases in U.S. bookings were recorded from companies in Germany, France, the U.K., Canada and Mexico.
www.politico.eu www.politico.eu
Business travel bookings from Europe to the United States crashed by more than a quarter in April compared to the same month in 2024, a sign of the widening collapse of positive views of America under Donald Trump.

Data shared with POLITICO by London-based HotelHub, a platform specialized in the business travel sector, found that bookings in April were down by 26 percent from a year ago. That comes as the U.S. is seeing a marked deterioration in its reputation; Trump has unleashed a global trade war and is attacking traditional U.S. allies while social media is filled with stories of travelers being mistreated while trying to enter the country.




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www.cbc.ca

Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. drop again for April, StatsCan data shows​

Overall arrivals into Canada by citizens and international travelers alike was down 15.2%





vancouversun.com

Cross-border travel from B.C. to Washington state plunges 50% over May long weekend

Despite fewer cars, return times were slowed as U.S. Customs and Border Protection continued periodic checks on vehicles headed to B.C.
vancouversun.com vancouversun.com

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Cross-border travel from B.C. to Washington state plunges 50% over May long weekend​

Despite fewer cars, return times were slowed as U.S. Customs and Border Protection continued periodic checks on vehicles headed to B.C.
 
altmin said:
www.politico.eu

Trump tanks EU business travel to America

Large decreases in U.S. bookings were recorded from companies in Germany, France, the U.K., Canada and Mexico.
www.politico.eu www.politico.eu
Business travel bookings from Europe to the United States crashed by more than a quarter in April compared to the same month in 2024, a sign of the widening collapse of positive views of America under Donald Trump.

Data shared with POLITICO by London-based HotelHub, a platform specialized in the business travel sector, found that bookings in April were down by 26 percent from a year ago. That comes as the U.S. is seeing a marked deterioration in its reputation; Trump has unleashed a global trade war and is attacking traditional U.S. allies while social media is filled with stories of travelers being mistreated while trying to enter the country.




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www.cbc.ca

Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. drop again for April, StatsCan data shows​

Overall arrivals into Canada by citizens and international travelers alike was down 15.2%​

​

​

​

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vancouversun.com

Cross-border travel from B.C. to Washington state plunges 50% over May long weekend

Despite fewer cars, return times were slowed as U.S. Customs and Border Protection continued periodic checks on vehicles headed to B.C.
vancouversun.com vancouversun.com

​

​

Cross-border travel from B.C. to Washington state plunges 50% over May long weekend​

Despite fewer cars, return times were slowed as U.S. Customs and Border Protection continued periodic checks on vehicles headed to B.C.
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That April decline is particularly striking because we had a late Passover/Easter in mid-April that many analysts suggested may have been a drag on travel to the U.S. in March but could result in a surge in such travel in April.
 
www.travelandtourworld.com

Europe Freezes US Travel as Lufthansa, British , Air France, KLM and More Slash Routes to Major Cities Including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago to Tap Soaring Demand Across Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Caribbean - Travel And Tour World

European airlines are freezing their transatlantic growth and pulling back from major U.S. cities like New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago as they redirect flights to Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Caribbean, where bookings are rising and demand is outpacing the American market.
www.travelandtourworld.com www.travelandtourworld.com

Europe Freezes US Travel as Lufthansa, British , Air France, KLM and More Slash Routes to Major Cities Including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago to Tap Soaring Demand Across Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Caribbean​

 

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www.cbc.ca


The number of travellers heading south of the border from Saskatchewan has dropped significantly since the election of President Donald Trump, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The most recent available data is from April. It shows that just over 27,000 travellers entered the United States that month at the 12 ports of entry that border Saskatchewan.

In April 2024, those 12 ports of entry recorded 34,800 travellers. That's a year-over-year drop of 7,700 people, or 22 per cent.



The decline is part of a trend that can be found across the data collected by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Saskatchewan border crossings.

When comparing numbers reported in April 2024 and April 2025, there's been a drop in the number of passenger vehicles (23 per cent) and trucks (20 per cent).
 
I'm sure that this summer there's going to be a whole spate of articles appearing in the FAFO thread about tourist spots and tourist towns and tourist businesses suffering and struggling financially as the amount of foreign visitors they depend on drops significantly. And much of it will no doubt be places close to the Canadian border. And no doubt many of the people they interview will say "I voted for Trump, but I didn't expect this!" or some such.
 

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www.cnbc.com

Spending from foreign visitors to the U.S. is poised to fall by $8.5 billion this year as negative perceptions tied to trade and immigration policy lead overseas tourists to look elsewhere, according to a research note published by Oxford Economics.

The spending decline, which works out to a drop of about 5% relative to last year, is a result of less foot traffic. International arrivals to the U.S. are expected to fall about 9% this year, Aran Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics, part of Oxford Economics, wrote in a research note last week.




Businesses and geographies that rely on foreign tourists for commerce could be especially hard-hit.

Other estimates suggest the potential economic loss may be even larger.

The World Travel & Tourism Council said this month it expects the U.S. economy to lose a “staggering” $12.5 billion in spending from international visitors in 2025, a “direct blow to the U.S. economy overall, impacting communities, jobs, and businesses from coast to coast.”


The U.S. Travel Association projects the U.S. will lose $21 billion in travel-related revenue in 2025 if current trends continue. Each 1% drop in spending from international visitors translates to $1.8 billion in lost revenue per year for the U.S. economy, according to the trade group.
 

Chilean tourist wrongfully arrested, leaving her 12 yr old daughter on the streets.​


 
This year, I’m busier than ever, but for the first time it’s not with buyers. Now, the majority of my clients are Canadians selling their properties and abandoning their stateside vacations because of the rising tension between the U.S. and Canada. As Donald Trump continues to talk about Canada becoming the 51st state, disillusioned snowbirds are seeking new places to spend their winters, leaving Phoenix in the dust.

Trump was already musing about annexing Canada within a day of his inauguration, but by then many snowbirds had already made the trek south for the winter. Things have only gotten more tense. No matter how you feel about Justin Trudeau, hearing him called Canada’s governor will get your hackles up. It didn’t sit right with me or many of my clients to be told that Canadians are a threat to the American border, when so many of us have been crossing peacefully to the States every winter for decades.


As things heated up, I’ve heard several stories of people experiencing anti-Canadian sentiments while in the States—something that seemed laughable a few months ago. Friends of mine recently left a Phoenix restaurant after a meal to find that their car had been keyed in the parking lot because of its Alberta licence plates. Other Canadians I know were told to “go back north” by Trump supporters. One of my clients who was down south to sell her property even covered her Canadian licence plates when she parked to deter the type of vandalism she’d heard about from fellow Canadians. For a lot of vacationers, this has felt like a betrayal and a drastic shift from the usually welcoming environment they’ve enjoyed for years. Normally, I handle five or six buyers at a time. This year, I was run off my feet with 16 Canadian sellers at once—a first in my 27 years in real estate.
It’s not just the odd unpleasant encounter that has people worried. My phone has been ringing off the hook all winter with concerned Canadians looking to sell their properties before the situation starts to cost them money. They’re worried that Trump might crack down on foreign property owners with new taxes amid the flurry of tariffs, or that the fluctuating U.S. dollar could mean they miss out on profits when they sell. Others are concerned about border crossings as horror stories emerge about Canadians getting turned away or detained. There are lots of Canadians in Phoenix who are waiting it out, either for a few months to see if the tension blows over, or for four years and the end of Trump’s term. But many have decided to leave outright. Some called it quits when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that foreign nationals entering the country for more than 30 days would have to be fingerprinted at the border.


...


Despite the sentiments from some Trump supporters that they don’t need Canadians here, the fleeing snowbirds are leaving an economic void. Canadians spent over US$20 billion while travelling in the States in 2024 and close to $2.5 billion in Arizona alone once you count real estate taxes. Restaurants in Phoenix are usually bumping all winter long with hungry snowbirds. By the end of this winter though, dining rooms were noticeably emptier. The area’s 200-plus golf courses, which are a big draw for northerners, have felt the decline as well. All the usual tourist economies, including sports and entertainment, are missing out as Canadian visitors to the U.S. have dropped over 30 per cent. The population dip can really be felt in neighbourhoods that have extremely high concentrations of Canadian retirees. I’ve heard from lots of business owners—restaurateurs, pool-maintenance workers, gardeners—that they’re already feeling the loss of the snowbirds. The numbers could be even worse next year too, since many Canadians who were already in the U.S. or had trips booked when the political tensions started have vowed not to return next year.
 


This Chilean tourist was released about 8 hours later
 
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