As more people vanish into the maw of the Trump administration’s lawless detention and deportation apparatus, being disappeared for weeks or possibly for life, other countries are warning their citizens to be aware that even having all their papers in order may not protect them when visiting the US.
These warnings follow an already well-documented trend of international travelers choosing to avoid visiting the USA, which could mean $64 billion in lost business for the US tourism industry. Canadians are usually the biggest contingent of foreign visitors, what with being right up there above the illustrated part of our maps, and they accounted for $20.5 billion in spending last year. Thanks largely to Trump’s trade war and his weird delusion that Canada wants to be us, Canadians are now staying away in droves. Gosh, wonder if tourism-related businesses are begging Trump not to be such an asshole?
Germany’s foreign office explains on its website that travelers will need a passport with a US visa or Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval from the US State Department, as you’d expect, but also warns that “Neither a valid ESTA authorization nor a valid US visa constitutes a right to entry into the USA. The final decision regarding entry is made by the US border official.”
The site recommends that travelers have proof of their return trip, but adds that if you get in trouble, the German government may not be able to help: “There is no legal recourse against this decision. German diplomatic missions abroad are unable to influence the reversal of a denial of entry.”
In addition, the page warns that “Criminal records in the United States, false information about the purpose of their stay, or even a slight overstay of their visa upon entry or exit can lead to arrest, detention, and deportation.”
However, even though a German foreign ministry spokesperson announced the advisory to the press Wednesday, the spox also added that it was not an “official travel warning,” OK?
Travel Weekly notes that the updated warning was posted
following reports of three German nationals who were detained at the U.S. border and deported. In one case, a tourist attempted to enter the U.S. from Tijuana in Mexico while traveling with her friend, a U.S. citizen, according to Euronews. The news outlet also reported that the detained woman’s friends alleged she was put in solitary confinement for nine days. The claims were denied by the detention center.
Well if American officials are saying that never happened, there’s no reason to think otherwise. How about those sneaky Germans, believing crazy stories from the foreign press. And after all our Great Leader has learned from previous German leaders!
Along similar lines, the United Kingdom also warned this week that British citizens could face dire consequences if they go to the US and fail to comply with whatever crazy shit our government is up to. The updated guidance emphasizes that “You should comply with all entry, visa and other conditions of entry. The authorities in the U.S. set and enforce entry rules strictly. You may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules.” It advises travelers who aren’t sure how that might apply to them to contact the US embassy or a consulate in the UK before travelling.
As Reuters points out, the advice is revised significantly from earlier, archived versions of the page, so we checked on the Wayback Machine from January, the week before Trump’s inauguration. And yes, in the Before Times, the page said only that “The authorities in the US set and enforce entry rules” before referring visitors to the US embassy or consulates if they had questions.
Reuters adds that Britain’s foreign office “declined to comment on the reason for the revision or confirm when exactly it took place.”
However the article adds,
Earlier this month, in response to media reports that a woman had been detained for more than 10 days at the border over a possible breach of her visa conditions, the Foreign Office confirmed it was providing support to a British national detained in the United States.
UK media reports say the woman has made it home.
The bit about the earlier version of the UK’s travel advisory got us curious, so we looked at the German page in January too, and at that time, it didn’t include anything other than the basic information about the documents necessary to travel to the US. None of that language about border guards having the final decision, or German authorities being unable to help, or about the possibilities of being detained or deported.
What a world.
We also noticed that, in another difference from January, the German travel site now warns that
Travelers to the USA must state either “male” or “female” on ESTA or visa applications; the relevant gender is the applicant’s birth date. Travelers with the gender entry “X” or whose current gender entry differs from their birth date should contact the responsible US diplomatic mission in Germany before entering the country to find out about the applicable entry requirements.
The advisory doesn’t mention that’s a new bit of trans panic from the Trump administration, however.
In addition, Reuters reports that both Finland and Denmark have also updated their travel information to reflect the new Trumpian panic over gender markers on passports. Denmark, like Germany, Austria, Iceland, Malta, Ireland, and the Netherlands, allows the option of “X” as a gender designation on passports, as did the United States before Trump declared trans and nonbinary people nonexistent, since that’s a thing he thinks presidents can do.
It’s not just a theoretical worry; as Evan points out on his side Substack, at least one of the people Trump has already disappeared to El Savador is a gay man who escaped Venezuela to seek asylum. He has no criminal record at all, but he did have a tattoo, so that made him a “gang member,” so he was sent to be tortured, even though he has been checking in with ICE and has a hearing scheduled in the next few weeks.
The People’s Republic of Canadia hasn’t formally warned its citizens to stay away from the US, although former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested last month that, in light of Trump’s trade war, it would be a good idea for Canadians to stay home and experience all the nice things in Canada.
And while it’s also just one Member of Parliament’s opinion, MP Charlie Angus of Ontario posted a video yesterday urging Canadians to “avoid travel to the United States if at all possible,” and also to call on the government to “stand up for our citizens who are being denied their rights through arbitrary detention in the United States.”
“We have seen too many stories of citizens being pulled out of airport lines, and being fingerprinted and deported, as though they were criminals. Citizens being kidnapped to illegal detention by ICE. And it’s not just Canadians, we see the attack on backpackers, students, doctors, professors.”
These, he said, are “not the actions of a democratic nation.”
Just to make clear that nobody is safe, the Great Leader issued his very own warning to American citizens: Committing property crimes (or even free speech?) against his top campaign donor’s death trap cars could get us disappeared, too.
And yes, Trump’s DOJ has announced that it will prosecute vandalism of Tesla cars or dealership as literal terrorism. He is completely serious about following through on disappearing Americans as “enemies” if he thinks he can get away with it.
‘American Pie’ Actress’s Story Of ICE Detention Will Send Chills Up Your Spine
Wise Solomon Trump Signs Executive Order To Make Everyone … Nonbinary
[WaPo (archive link) / NPR / Reuters / Travel Weekly / Axios]
Yr Wonkette is funded entirely by reader donations. If you can, please become a paid subscriber, or hit this one time donation button which cleverly doubles as a monthly donation button in the amount of your choice, should you so choose.
www.wonkette.com (Article Sourced Website)
#Civilised #Nations #Warn #Citizens #Disappeared #Travel #USA