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

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superrific said:
Well, there it is. It's really sad that we are even joking around like this. Remember when the thought of being detained upon entry wouldn't even cross our minds?
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Well...to be honest I've been detained twice when entering Latin American countries so it is always kind of in the back of my mind...but as you say, just never when coming home.
 
donbosco said:
Well...to be honest I've been detained twice when entering Latin American countries so it is always kind of in the back of my mind...but as you say, just never when coming home.
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Fair enough. For all the GOP shouted about the US becoming a "banana republic" if we prosecuted a president for his crimes, they've pretty much turned us into one.
 
Just to add a tiny bit to my recent experience, I was shocked at how automated customs has become for US passport holders. At least for travel between the US and Mexico. It was actually much harder to get into the Bahamas than into Mexico. I’m sure it varies by country and it’s probably more complicated if you’re declaring something, but it couldn’t have been easier for me, and that was a bit of a surprise.
 
superrific said:
Probably best to wipe out anything Guatemala related, which I doubt is possible for you given how closely your life seems to be intertwined with that country and its people.

But as lawtig said, you're almost certainly safe. Just don't do anything that might get anyone's attention. Please, thank you, yessir, look straight ahead in line, etc. But you know that, probably way way better than I do.
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He’s a white male citizen. He’ll be fine and cross the border easily without incident or scrutiny.
 

How U.S. Tourists Are Dealing With a New Animosity Overseas​

Travel agents and travelers share their playbook for overseas visits in the face of antipathy toward the U.S.​


🎁—> https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/trave...3?st=wNezpF&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

“… After recent U.S. strikes in Iran, the State Department issued a travel alert that advised of “the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad.” Over half of Americans reported they felt that U.S. travelers would be less welcome in other countries as a result of the Trump administration’s trade policies, according to a survey conducted in April by travel marketing firm MMGY Global.

“They are aware America doesn’t look the best on the world stage right now with threats of tariffs and visas being denied,” said Heather Grodin, a travel planner associated with MEI-Travel. A State Department representative didn’t respond to a request for further comment.

… Some of the animosity Americans could encounter traveling this summer might be a reflection of attitudes toward overtourism rather than specific anti-U.S. sentiment. …”
 
dukeman92 said:
I wish the IOC would pull the Olympics and that FIFA would remove the World Cup. We clearly do not deserve to celebrate these things with the rest of the world.
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Those organizations are famous for doing the right thing…

They’re probably more excited now that trump is just openly welcoming corruption, where these orgs really shine.
 
Well, as an American I have chosen to not visit other countries. That’s fine with me. At one point I was like Twice removed from a high level Homeland security dude. He said I should think twice before going to any other country.
 
JosephFreeman said:
Well, as an American I have chosen to not visit other countries. That’s fine with me. At one point I was like Twice removed from a high level Homeland security dude. He said I should think twice before going to any other country.
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He warned you against visiting any other country? When was this and how paranoid of a man was he?
 
www.nzz.ch

Swiss woman is denied entry at the US border and detained

«You have no right to be here.» A teacher wanted to celebrate her birthday in New York. Instead, she was jailed in New Jersey before being deported. A lawyer warns that something similar could happen to almost anyone.
www.nzz.ch www.nzz.ch

Lara arrived in New York on April 9 at 4 p.m. local time. The border guard asked the usual routine questions about how long she would be staying in the U.S. and where she planned to stay. But instead of letting her proceed into the city, he said, «Follow this gentleman.»

Lara spent six hours in a room with other travelers who had also been «flagged,» the term for those selected by border officials for further questioning. Lara is 38 years old. She studied in the U.S. for several years on a student visa. She also worked there with the appropriate authorization and paid taxes. She has only been living in Switzerland again since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She visits her longtime friends in New York several times a year and obtains her travel authorization via ESTA.

The officials wanted to know why she travels to the U.S. so often. Because she loves New York and many of her friends live there, Lara replied. Then the officers demanded access to Lara's smartphone. «I had to give them access to all my social media accounts and my online banking account,» she says. «Then they disappeared for about an hour with my cellphone.»

«You're lying»​

Because Lara not only works at a school in Switzerland, but also gives online language courses and counts Americans among her customers, the border officials were convinced that she wanted to work during her stay in the U.S.

The fact that Lara was carrying souvenirs, such as German books and Swiss chocolate, had her laptop and had arranged to meet some of her online students for coffee in New York reinforced the border officials' suspicions. When Lara insisted that she did not want to work during her vacation, the officials always responded with the same statement: «You're lying.»

«Then they threatened me: Either I officially say in the interrogation that I came to New York to work, or they will send me to prison,» Lara says, adding that the situation intimidated her. «But I still said: That's not right. If you treat me like this, I will need a lawyer, and I must be given the opportunity to contact the Swiss Embassy. Their response was: You have no right to be here. You are not an American citizen.»

At around 10 p.m., she was allowed to call an American friend of her parents with whom she is so close that she calls her «aunt.» The aunt informed Lara's friends in New York and her family in Switzerland what was happening. At 11:30 p.m., Lara received official notification that she would not be allowed to enter the United States.

However, instead of being put back on the next flight to Switzerland, Lara was placed on a chair anchored to the floor and secured to it with a leg restraint. She waited like this for two hours, not knowing what would happen next. Then she was taken to a small room and subjected to a full-body search. In addition to the ankle restraint she was put in handcuffs and a chain was put around her waist. «That was the first time I cried,» Lara says.

...

«I find it problematic that Switzerland does not take a clearer stance on arbitrary deprivation of liberty and violations of the fundamental rights of its citizens,» says lawyer Pascal Ronc. In Lara's case, he sees arbitrariness and a violation of fundamental freedoms and rights. «She was deprived of her liberty and human dignity on the basis of vague suspicions about her possible future behavior. No breach of law could be alleged or proven against her,» says Ronc. Searching smartphones and laptops is also a serious invasion of privacy and may therefore be classified similarly to a house search.
 
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