It really disgusts me to post this, but spend your vacation elsewhere.
Why Are Germans Being Detained by US Immigration?
DW asks Why Are Germans Being Detained by US Immigration?
Immigration officials in the United States are known for being aggressive, even combative, during routine passport checks at the country’s borders. However, citizens of the European Union are ostensibly allowed to travel to the US visa-free for 90 days, provided they fill out an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form and pass the related background check.
So why have four German nationals been detained for weeks on end by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since the beginning of 2025?
Green Card Holder Held Without Charge
“I feel helpless,” Astrid Senior told local media in Boston after her son, Fabian Schmidt, was detained at Logan Airport on March 7. Senior and Schmidt aren’t even tourists, they are Green Card holders — lawful permanent residents of the US — having lived in the country since 2007.
Schmidt, 34, was interrogated “for hours” his mother said, after returning from a visit to Germany and being told simply that his Green Card had been flagged.
She said her son was deprived of sleep, food and water, and had his anxiety medication withheld. His condition worsened to the point that he had to be taken to a local hospital.
While ICE confirmed the hospital visit, they told US media they could not comment further on the case for legal reasons. Schmidt’s lawyer, David Keller, has said in press statements that neither he nor his client have been told why he is being held.
John Gihon of the American Immigration Lawyers Association told DW that there is no legal limit for how long someone can be held in ICE detention without being made aware of formal charges. “In the past, ICE had a policy of serving charging documents within 72 hours. However, that policy appears to no longer be in place,” he said.
Tourists Detained for Weeks
Lucas Sielaff, a 25-year-old from the eastern German town of Bad Bibra, told Der Spiegel magazine about a similarly harrowing experience earlier this month. He was released after two weeks, and deported to Germany.
“I was angry, sad, and afraid,” Sielaff told the outlet, describing what happened during a trip to visit his American fiancee, who lives in the western state of Nevada, one of many trips he has taken in recent years. The pair decided to take her sick dog to a veterinarian in Mexico, where appointments are easier to get. Sielaff described a tense interrogation at the border on the way back, saying he suspected the border patrol officer assumed he was living unlawfully in the US, trying to skirt the 90-day regulation by taking the short trip out of the country.
Sielaff said he was shackled around his stomach and feet and brought to an ICE detention center in California, where he was put in a cell with 128 other men. On March 6, after two weeks without being told anything about his case, he was put on a flight to Munich.
His case was similar to that of Jessica Brösche, a Berlin-based tattoo artist who was in ICE detention for two weeks earlier this year. Brösche was trying to cross into the US from Mexico on January 15, when an officer said he found tattooing equipment in her bag and suspected her of trying to work illegally in the US. She was deported to Germany after six weeks’ detention.
Celine Flad, 22, is another German who found herself at the mercy of an unclear border situation when she tried to go on vacation in New York and Miami. The university student told Der Spiegel that despite having a valid passport and an ESTA waiver, she was told there was a “problem” with her passport. She was held for 24 hours, during which she was repeatedly asked why she wanted to enter the US. Flad added that the officers took her smartphone and searched through her pictures.
Despite showing officials her hotel bookings in New York and Miami, and her flight tickets on to Cancun, Mexico, she was told she was being sent back to Germany as soon as possible. She was never told what the issue was.
Berlin Issues Travel Advisory
The four Germans are hardly the only tourists and US residents who have found themselves caught in a Kafkaesque situation with ICE following US President Donald Trump’s recent crackdown on immigration. Trump has even tried to invoke an 18th century law to imprison more immigrants, but that move was struck down by a court.
Travelers from other countries with visa-free travel to the US, like Canada and France, have reported similar incidents at the country’s borders.
The situation has gotten to the point where the Foreign Ministry in Berlin has issued an advisory to its citizens planning a trip to the US, stressing that holding a US visa or entry waiver does not guarantee access for German citizens.
British Tourist Detained in US After Visa Mix-Up Returns to UK
The Guardian reports British Tourist Detained in US After Visa Mix-Up Returns to UK
A British woman detained in the US for three weeks because of a visa mix-up has reportedly arrived back in the UK.
Sky News broadcast images of Rebecca Burke, 28, a graphic artist from Monmouthshire, being welcomed at Heathrow airport by a loved one. Her return to the UK comes after her family confirmed she had been released from a immigration detention centre.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: “We supported a British national who was detained in the USA and were in contact with the local authorities.”
Burke was trying to cross into the US state of Washington from Canada when she was refused entry. Canadian authorities told her to go back to the US and fill in new paperwork before returning.
However, when she tried to re-enter the US, she was handcuffed and put in a cell before being taken to the Tacoma Northwest detention facility.
Her father, Paul Burke, previously said she was being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “in horrendous conditions” and had not had access to legal representation.
More Countries Telling Their Citizens Not to Travel to the U.S.
The Street reports More Countries Telling Their Citizens Not to Travel to the U.S.
Amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and ensuing detention of multiple tourists at various borders, multiple countries are now warning their citizens to be careful when traveling to the U.S.
The German Ministry issued a warning reminding citizens that neither a U.S. visa nor an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) designation can guarantee admission into the country or the absence of problems at the border. An ESTA is obtained by tourists who are coming into the U.S. for short stays.
Global Affairs Canada also warned Canadians traveling to the U.S. to familiarize themselves with any updates to immigration rules before travel.
Just Don’t Come
I never thought I would see the day when foreign nations issue travel advisories on the entire US.
You may be detained for weeks without being charged with anything.
Yes, that’s rare. But there should be zero instances of UK and EU citizens being detained for weeks without being charged with anything.
My advice is just don’t come. Vacation somewhere else.
And if you are here on a green card, don’t leave and expect to get back in.
If you are not disgusted by this, then you are disgusting.
Reader Addendum
I am an Australian. I work in corporate finance and banking. I visited the USA last year to participate in the Boston Marathon. I travelled with my partner (we are a CIS couple). We had an ESTA visa. I have travelled to the US a number of times over 30 years. Partner has travelled twice to the US. We had return flights. We had all accommodation prebooked. We had spending money and credit cards with generous limits.
We flew from Australia to LA where we were planning a six hour layover before catching an overnight flight to Boston. We arrived in LA and spent two hours in the line to clear immigration/passports.
We finally got to present our passports to the immigration officer. He looked at the documents, handed partner’s passports to her, retained mine and instructed me to wait. With now less than three hours to connecting flight we asked how long I would wait. No idea he said.
Partner went to collect bags. I was escorted to a large room, crammed with people like me. Told to sit. Not to speak to anyone else and not to touch the phone. Three hours later I was released with no explanation. Partner then in a huge panic. Missed the flight. Airport shut down. No assistance from anyone anywhere.
We did eventually get to Boston. Lost more than a day of our trip.
And we have sworn never to visit the USA again.
I looked up CIS. It means you claim to be the sex assigned at birth.
A “cis couple” refers to a romantic or intimate relationship where both individuals identify as cisgender, meaning their gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth. [Not transgender]
Addendum II
@lemondefr reports that a French research traveling to the United States for a conference was denied entry by CBP because a border agent searched his phone and found comments criticizing President Trump.
I am an Australian. I work in corporate finance and banking. I visited the USA last year to participate in the Boston Marathon. I travelled with my partner (we are a CIS couple). We had an ESTA visa. I have travelled to the US a number of times over 30 years. Partner has travelled twice to the US. We had return flights. We had all accommodation prebooked. We had spending money and credit cards with generous limits.
We flew from Australia to LA where we were planning a six hour layover before catching an overnight flight to Boston. We arrived in LA and spent two hours in the line to clear immigration/passports.
We finally got to present our passports to the immigration officer. He looked at the documents, handed partner’s passports to her, retained mine and instructed me to wait. With now less than three hours to connecting flight we asked how long I would wait. No idea he said.
Partner went to collect bags. I was escorted to a large room, crammed with people like me. Told to sit. Not to speak to anyone else and not to touch the phone. Three hours later I was released with no explanation. Partner then in a huge panic. Missed the flight. Airport shut down. No assistance from anyone anywhere.
We did eventually get to Boston. Lost more than a day of our trip.
And we have sworn never to visit the USA again.
It’s my recollection that stuff like this happened prior to the Trump Administration also.
While sad to hear of your experience, you don’t really think the government cares one way or another whether you return or not, do you? Sure the local businesses and cities may care, but the Federal government? Not so much.
70-80 million tourists visit the USA annually. There would have to be a HUGE drop-off in international tourists, say maybe 20-30 million, before the government might raise a figurative eyebrow.
He already said it from the beginning, “I visited the USA last year...“
I’ve heard other stories too. And when I was on “green card” status myself 15 years ago, they would call me at the INS to fingerprint me every 6 months. I was wondering, would my fingerprints change? Why were they doing that? Apparently, there had been cases of people like me waiting for citizenship who would swap papers/identity with others with very similar appearance, and they wanted to make sure I was the same person. At least that’s what one INS officer told me out of his office (in a social event). But when I moved from Chicago to Philadelphia, all of a sudden I was invited to take the oath and become a citizen within one month. In the ceremony, I was the only “Caucasian”. I’m Greek and had come from Greece, but since I happened to be born in Germany, they called me as “the representative from Germany”, so now I am a German American.
Different States have vastly differing experiences.
Back in the early 2000s when I lived in Texas, the company I was working for was trying to sponsor a guy via an H1Bs for Green Card to eventually become a citizen. The process there took years (longer than 1 H1B visa would last). The guy who was on it, eventually took another job in Kansas and told us the reason he did so was because in under 1 year he’d complete the process because there were far fewer people in the queue and so the process was simplified.
True. Illinois bureaucracy is fast only when they want to fine you for something.
Your reading comprehension needs help, jojo.
Did you use the term “CIS” in the presence of the immigration officer? That might explain it.
It is so sad that even being “normalized” and one who identifies as a Male when born a male HAS A TERM. ALL OTHER TERMS should be used, I supposed, but if I am a Male born as a male, I am “NORMAL.”
I will never use the TERM, “CIS.”
The gay community used to just call heterosexuals “breeders”.
Happy to be called a breeder as it’s a cool nickname. I guess Musk is a ‘super breeder’ 🙂
Your case happened last year under Biden. Nothing to do with Trump.
Broesche’s case happened before Trump was sworn in as well.
Japanese tourists to Hawaii are often denied entry to the USA especially if they happen to be young single women travelling alone. This happened numerous times under Biden’s term in office and received a lot of attention in n Japan.
This harrassment of travellers also happens to US citizens as well. Returning to the US after a long absence I was questioned for over 10 minutes by the Immigration Officer why I was entering the US, where I was going, etc, etc. This happened over 16 years ago and I’ve never been back. Don’t
intend to travel to the US ever again either. That incident happened at Los Angeles airport which had a bad reputation.
They should let the young single women in, but not let them out.
oh, so like in the middle east. Classy.
To some of the comments made:
This was pre -Trump.
We are Australians and are not anti Trump. More the opposite.
We don’t expect the US govt or people to care and are not trying to seek sympathy
No, we didn’t mention CIS in front of the officer. It is the best description I can think of to describe our relationship.
Very unlikely that “they found something relating to a job” that would be a problem.
FWIW: I am a 70 year old retiree. Never had trouble with the law. No arrests. No record other than a couple of fines for speeding.
And yes, I still run marathons (with my “CIS partner” – I live a clean and healthy life.
FWIW,
Here in the US we would just call you and your partner “boyfriend/girlfriend”. Partner is something I usually only hear when it’s a same sex couple or a law firm. I would say most people here who are not hard core Lefty’s, LGBT, or indoctrinated high school or college kids don’t use CIS. Lots of people aren’t going to know what CIS means, and if you try to explain it, they might ask, “you mean straight?”. The way a lot of people grew up and learned the social norms and language, you’re either straight or you’re not. For me, you were either straight or gay, with gay referring to male or female and lesbian being female only. The B and the T didn’t come around until later as the closet door really started to swing full open.
CIS – “you mean normal?”
I’m sorry about your awful experience.
Just to say that, even among American travelers, LAX immigration has a terrible reputation. We try to avoid it.
From Asia, Australia – SFO
From S. America – Dallas or Miami
“I travelled with my partner (we are a CIS couple).”
In normal words: “I travelled with my girlfriend”.
I would support denying you entry to my homecountry just for using this insane Newspeak…
Crossing back to the US from Canada years ago was crappy because the people hired at those gates have a badge, a gun and an inflated sense of worth. Going to Canada, it’s what you would imagine…. good humor.
I am suspicious of these stories suddenly hitting headline attention, especially in Europe. They all serve the anti-Trump authoritarian danger to democracy narrative.
American border agents have been known to be abusive for decades.
American prisons are horrible, something also known for a long long time.
American cops are also known to be dangerous and aggressive.
A sharp inflection point occurred after 911.
I need to see proof that such stories and events are unique to the Trump era and that there has been a sharp increase in people running afoul of US border agents.
Canadians have for generations been astonished at the insistence of these people that they must be trying to break into the promised land (while transiting), looking for work (when going to a school), engaged in “fake” marriages to an American, etc.
It appears that there is no one responsible for the actions of USCIS, ICE, TSA, or the State Department.
It’s useful to know how badly the US is treating foreign visitors, we dirty foreigners can now give yanks maximum shit when they arrive at our countries on holiday.
Mish, you usually support your posts with data and are very objective. I sense a lot of emotion clouding your judgement on this one.
Literally tens of millions of europeans visit the USA every year. And because a handful of people had issues, and without knowing the other side of the story, you are telling people not to visit?
They could detain you, but then again, they might not. Like most places. Next.
What ever happened to common sense? Both on the travellers and border guards.
It seems that Nazi state regime ideology has taken hold in the USA.
As an American I’ve been detained for weeks in EU without being charged with anything
Wasn’t the Usonian VP the one who scalded Europeans for detaining people for posting mean things online? Alas, sheer hypocrisy.
Yeah, this is 100% wrong and needs to be fixed asap. These are people, not a government.
I crossed from Ireland into N. Ireland a good while back. It was dark. We were in a car. They stopped us between two gates about 100 yards apart. Spotlight in our faces. Sat there for maybe 10 minutes with a stop or two by a border guard. Once in N. Ireland, peeps were friendly and much beer was had. Did not know that IRA had carried out a major attack the month before.
The Dundalk crossing was kind of scary.
And my manager doesn’t understand why I, a natural born US citizen, won’t fly or even leave the country (US) for a business trip or vacation.
Critical thinking is more important than ever. Of course, cases of delays and seemingly nonsensical interrogations by U.S. customs can be found every year, regardless of the administration. However, after January 20, 2025, these occurrences have seemingly become more commonplace, and the encounters have become more invasive and aggressive. Just yesterday, I read a report of a French scientist traveling to Houston for a conference being retained. Then I denied entry reportedly based upon his “anti-Trump” social media post where he expressed his opinion on the administration’s adverse impact on scientists. When I first saw references to this situation, I was initially sure that it was fake news because I failed to believe such a thing would happen in the United States.
That could be true ….I was told that a foreign border agent can scan your US passport, and have access to your local DMV records.
Since they put those chips in the passports, I don’t think we have much privacy!
– Citizens of the European Union are ostensibly allowed to travel to the US visa-free for 90 days, provided they fill out an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form and pass the related background check.
– So why have four German nationals been detained for weeks on end by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since the beginning of 2025?
> In this particular case, the “Green Card” was flagged. This supersedes everything else, for obvious Safety reasons. If it was done by mistake, then the proper apologies will be made. You can care about emotional responses, as this is for safety, and for everyone including the Card Holder. Sort out those unfortunate details later, but in the moment detain the individual per “The Rule of Law”
>> There is no legal limit for how long someone can be held in ICE detention without being made aware of formal charges. This has been in place since 1996 I do believe. There have been changes, but not in the area of Security, the basis for their role of course.
Now if one is concerned about the Law and/or How it is being implemented, then take the Legal Steps to address such complaint. You will be fairly treated in the Courts per the Laws written and if enforced correctly.
I will mention the Fact that we inherited an illegal immigration Crisis, thanks to Harris & Biden. With many, many, very bad individuals running rampant throughout Our Country, the heat has rightfully been turned up! I do believe that has been apologized for, and by Trump too, but I can’t find it.
We must stop acting emotionally, as this is what got us in this Awful State that our Country is currently in!! People must “Stop Whining” when things don’t go your way, and let things play out. Times have “Drastically Changed” in Our Country, and Not for “The Better” and we ALL need to understand that.
– Berlin Issues Travel Advisory > There Prerogative…
The issue of illegals coming to the US could be solved by charging employers who hire them with a crime. But big business doesn’t want that. Neither do well off people hiring housekeepers and lawn services etc…instead this country spends a fortune chasing illegals all over the country. Like the issue of abortion conservatives need their boogie man to get their voters out. They don’t want this resolved the easy way. Charge everyone who hires them with a crime.Three strikes and you will be deported.
I agree, and the laws are on the books still, so it’s simply a matter of execution of the existing law I would think.
Things got all wrapped up like an elastic band ball, and they take quite a bit of Patience and time to unwind.
Not sure which laws at this point, have been abandoned, altered, ignored etc. I think we are slowly working that out however!
Our Canadian relatives (one of them a US citizen) say they will not travel to the US anymore. Given what I see in the European press about ICE detentions, if I would be employed in the US tourist industry, I would look for a new job.
if you travel illegally, I wouldn’t travel to the US either. If you’re a visitor, you’ll be find other than dealing with a-holes that work for TSA or the border.
It could be a procedure to deep dive every X amount of people. Some of the stories do sound suspect. Taking a dog to a vet in Mexico because it takes too long in Nevada…yeah that person needs to be deep dived. And how many people are entering daily? If the percentage of complaints were high people would stop entering in droves. https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/simgad/13418993493734645074?
TIT FOR TAT coming for US Citizens traveling to Europe?
Time will tell.
Nope, the EU cannot afford to do so.
One other consideration for the readers: If you are suspected of breaking immigration laws in MANY countries to our South, you won’t just be detained for a few days or weeks.
You will be charged with a felony, asset-stripped and caged.
AND possibly beaten to a pulp, as my English friend was in Playa del Carman..
Most countries take their immigration laws at least as seriously and MUCH MORE than the good old USA..
It’s just that we have gotten so used to being every Third World Country’s dumping ground for their immigrants that were have “Beaten Wife Syndrome”.
Employers are breaking immigration laws. They aren’t punished. Explain why that’s fine for you. I never hear conservatives talk about the employers who love illegal immigrants. It’s always the desperate who come here that gets your ire. Turn your anger to the source. You are misguided.
I’m a contractor who has been a political activist against hiring illegals for OVER 30 YEARS.
Yes, it is a felony to hire illegals.
No, I have NEVER hired even one.
Yes, employers should go to jail, as prescribed by law.
You claim “it’s always the desperate who come here.”
Are you native or ignorant? Or both?
There are over 600,000 known criminal illegal felons that have come during the Biden Admin.
Are you hosting any of these desperate people at your home?
Are you volunteering your time at a immigrant shelters?
Did you pay any $$ to Charities for illegals?
Grow up.
This life boat is not big enough for even a fraction of the world’s desperate.
There are about 4 billion that would like to live here and if we leave borders open, WE will be the “desperate” in the near future.
The unwelcome mat is out, now with indefinite detention features. Welcome to the new combo of casino complex and Peoples Republic of China, all in one. It has expanded to engulf us all. IRS login wants all kinds of biometric data: preview of coming attractions. Bad if you have left any (newly-discovered-to-be) “wrong” bread crumbs or identifiers in the digital world at any time: scarlet letter.
Foreign Nations have issued travel advisories/warnings in the past.
The German Gov warned it’s citizens to be cautious of traveling to Florida.
Chimps Gone Wild were carjacking the German Tourists rental cars and murdering them at an alarming rate.. (The Chimps could tell by the license plates that those cars were rentals and likely had tourists with thick wallets inside)
Hell, I won’t go to LA, Shitcago, Detroit, NYC, Atlanta, DC and many other large Blue Sanitarium Cities.
Denver, which is 45 miles to my South, is a friggin’ HELLHOLE..
Denver used to be one of the most friendly, clean and beautiful cities in the USA.
THANK YOU DEMON-crats.
For those who really know US immigration law they can check up and tell us the requirements for foreigners gaining entry to the US and:
1. Leaving the US and returning to their own country via another country rather than the US such as Canada or Mexico.
2. Arriving in the US and then leaving the US and trying to get back into the US on the same trip such as US Mexico US and then back to their own country.
I think there are some stupid laws or regulations about this kind of travel that prohibits such movements upon entry to the US or prohibits entry in the first place.
As an aside here is another story of leaving and entering the US
Years ago I used to fly out of Bragg on military aircraft wearing civilian clothes and after completing my “work” overseas I would return on commercial flights via various countries.
There was never a record of me leaving the US and I only carried a regular US passport which was never used to gain entry to the country overseas where I was going.
Upon returning to the US I never had any problems either as I showed my nifty new US passport (with no entry or exit stamps)…of course I also had my badge and credentials to show along with the passport and was passed though without any problems or paperwork….
So yes, sometimes getting in without any hassle is possible.
Hyperbole. Don’t come from Europe to the US, go down into Mexico and expect to cruise back across the border. Those were the majority of examples. There is a library on the Canadian border, literally, you can walk in the back from Canada and out the front into the US. Quaint, quirky, hey what are those Chinese military aged males who don’t speak English doing in the library anyway? Etc. The Canadian side as of today is now closed, open only to staff.
Who knew that legally crossing a legal border would entitle you to being arrested and detained for weeks on end. I can’t believe people are defending this. I would expect this from communist China or Russia.
Wait, based on the comments below, the cases to which you are referring happen during the Biden administration?
They did.
Take it from someone who is old enough to have traveled to the US for a LONG time (since the 70s as a kid). EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING changed after 9/11 and the creation of Homeland security.
Prior to that you could come and go to the US as you pleased, after that, it’s on par with entering communist countries in Europe before the wall came down.
When someone tells you who they are you’d be a fool not to believe them. None of this should be surprising to anyone.
Agreed, but we are so far past that point, as they are now simply “Showing” Us!! Pretty Brazen…
Welcome to the new world order, Globalism has produced.
Terrorists blowing up places and people all over the globe moving at will and the complaint is someone got questioned at a Border crossing.
I have lot of metal in hips. Set off the detectors every time,I go thru airport screening. I get pulled out and heavily screened. I accept it as consequence of pyscho Politically driven policies which created this situation.
If your poor little feelings are hurt because they are injured with basic security checks, learn to deal with it. Growth the eff up.
In this life problems will occur.
Right on!
Maybe they’re harassing a handful of white people so they can’t be accused of racism.
Disturbing sign of economic trouble: Recession fears surge as Americans default on car loans at record rates, echoing 2008 financial crisis warnings
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/disturbing-sign-of-economic-trouble-recession-fears-surge-as-americans-default-on-car-loans-at-record-rates-echoing-2008-financial-crisis-warnings/articleshow/119172109.cms?from=mdr
The EU should reciprocate and put US citizens in detention without sleep, food, water and medicine for weeks on end.
According to some of these comments, these situations happened during the Biden administration.
Fuckery reciprocity FTW!
I bet you stuck a fork in an electric socket because a friend did.
Seems the bad ol’ days of the USA Macarthyism are back again. Reminds me of what happened to my grandmother during those oppressive years. She was born 1918 in Pennsylvania to Finnish parents working in USA. My grandgrandmother was a servant in a household and her spouse worked there as sort of a butler. Since they gathered a nice little lump of money, they returned to Finland 1930’s and started various businesses like a furniture shop and small motel and were succesful at it.
My grandmother had dual passports of USA and Finland. During the Macarthyism era she went to visit her relatives – we still have distant relatives living there – and was taken to an office and dictated that as a condition her entering the USA she would have to hand over her US passport. No reasons were given and as a very soft and gentle soul she was, she gave up without a fight.
I suppose during those times the Cold War was the excuse for such behaviour. Perhaps from a distance it was difficult to see the difference between the free democratic Finland and its neighbour the USSR.
Don’t really know why to tell this story but maybe it is somehow really sad that we are at this point again. My grandmother never visited the USA again and instead lived in Spain during the winters. As a child I lived with her and spoke some Spanish at the time. Maybe everything good that the USA at some point was, a beacon of freedom and hope in a dark world, is doomed to erode at some point. It is just overwhelming to observe that development.
Finlandization. Look it up. In order to maintain their national identity, the Finns had to “accomodate” the Soviets. As with countries in the Warsaw pact. Your example is an emotional plea. Bin it.
It was much more complex than your simplistic BS take. I have had first row seat observing that period since our family had a travel agency offering trips to the USSR.
I’m going to bet there is more to some of those stories than meets the eye. Like the ‘tatoo artist’ trying to get into the US via Mexico. But let’s set that aside.
As someone who (1) has lived on a sailboat for more than 10 years (2) has travelled more than 50,000 NM on the boat and (3) has been in and out of 27 countries via boat and 4) has returned multiple times to the US, this type of stuff has been going on in the US and the world for decades. Mish, maybe you need to get out more.
The only reason the stories are being brought to light now is TDS. Period.
We were never arrested or detained overnight. But we have been taken in for questioning in Portugal, Spain, Turks and Caicos, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Bermuda. We were forced to stay on our boat in an exposed, commercial anchorage in the Dominican Republic for 11 days under quarantine while they ‘checked our papers’. And then once our visitor papers we’re approved we had to pay a $50 USD per day fine for anchoring in a commercial anchorage, in addition to the $500 for a 3 week permit. We were refused entry in Barbados during Covid and head to head back out to sea in a force 8 storm (that’s a full gale with up to 50 knots of wind and 20-25ft waves).. Some countries, like Grenada, were great. But in nearly every country we were boarded and searched, often by a team of 3-4 heavily armed men, often with search dogs. The stories are endless.
The Bahamas were great because they took bribes and everyone knew it. Until Covid.
Coming back into the US was always a hassle. The disbelief that we had crossed the Atlantic on our little boat never failed. We have been boarded and searched by the Coast Guard multiple times, searched by US Customs, taken off the boat for questioning by BPS. Hell, just transiting the ICW from N.C. to FL we were stopped multiple times during one trip by local, state and US authorities.
And if you think all that is bad, I could spend a few more paragraphs telling tales about our encounters with Canadian Customs. Back in the 90s we had an incident where someone tried to board our boat in the middle of the night. We had young kids on board. We scared them off with a flare gun. My wife called the police. That was a mistake, because our names and our boat name got entered into the database. And to this day, if we try and enter Canada by boat, air, or land, we are taken out and questioned. Last summer we went into Canada and our boat was searched for three hours while we were questioned off the boat by two different people.
As others have written, this stuff goes on all over the world. And it’s been going on in the US too. It’s just never been highlighted by the media until now. In other words, they are gaslighting you again.
I don’t disagree that it’s disgusting. But it’s reality. And not just in the US. For us it always been a price to pay for our vagabond ways.
We scan less than the 4% of commercial containers shipped across our borders every year, and we blame other countries for our drug issues? 11 million containers!
We scan less than the 4% of commercial containers shipped across our borders every year, 11 million containers!
I enjoyed that enough to Read Twice!
Some great stories there.
I haven’t lived Eric’s life but I can fully confirm some of his experiences living in Florida. Many times from West Palm I’ve gone on over night fishing trips to the Bahama’s (100% agree it’s easy to get in there especially in the Great Abaco area) on friends power boats and on the way back been stopped and boarded by the coast guard (esp at night) as they searched the boat (more for people than drugs surprisingly).
Another time in Tampa we were stopped and boarded by the coast guard and we were less than 200 yards off shore from the beach and there isn’t a foreign country you could reach within a weeks time from there (this on a 38 ft power boat, not a sailboat).
Only been truly hassled once by US customs on shore when returning from a trip. This one was a sailing trip (Turks & Caicos to Bahamas to Ft Lauderdale) that lasted 2 weeks. To them it apparently looked like we were doing some kind of giant drug run and so we were detained for 3-4 hours of questioning.
Interesting to hear the perspective like this.
Sounds like you have enough material for a good book or documentary! If there are any hidden bodies to be revealed, the story could be the basis for a movie.
In the 80’s the “thing” in the Carribbean was to trade coke for AK’s.
A lot of that trade took place from private boats entering various ports there.
So that is probably one reason for all the scrutiny. The trade more than likely increased with the rise of the drug cartels in the 90’s.
You mentioned Grenada which was a hot spot for this type of trade under the New Jewel Movement government of Maurice Bishop and Bernard Coard.
That government had a lot of corrupt people in it and it was no different than the former government run by Eric Geary.
I met Bernard Coard and also Hudson Austin while in Grenada. Coard was quite eloquent and neither of them were one bit sorry for their actions which resulted in the death of Bishop and others.
Coard is still alive ( 80 years old), but Austin died a few years ago.
I still check the news every few months to see if people I met there are still alive.
Grenada is a beautiful island and the people there were quite friendly. I haven’t been back, but from reading about the island it has changed so much I wouldn’t even recognise the place.
“who lives in the western state of Nevada, one of many trips he has taken in recent years. The pair decided to take her sick dog to a veterinarian in Mexico, where appointments are easier to get.”
Is this common for residents of Nevada to do? must be a lot easier and cheaper down in Mexico
Yep, exactly what I was thinking.
They crossed the border for 72 hours and then returned to USA.
Visa purposes only.
Used to do that in Costa Rica every 3 months.
Same Same..
It’s crazy suspicious. A foreign national who is in the US suddenly takes a 72 hr trip to Mexico. It just reeks of drug / human smuggling connections.
Obviously in this case not true (or so we hope it isn’t), but I don’t blame the officers for taking a closer longer look at things. We have no idea what they carried with them on this trip or how they acted or answered questions etc.
I had similar thoughts. I don’t believe that it was not easy to get a veterinarian appointment in Nevada. I’m skeptical that the expense of going to Mexico would outweigh the cost of treatment in the US.
Mish should be able to see through this stuff. There’s more going on here that meets the eye in this biased story.
I feel bad for some of these people, though. I still have vivid memories of excessively rude immigration officials treating me badly at times when I returned to the US, although that wasn’t every time. Some immigration officials were normal, professional, and respectful.
When the Olympics happen in 2028 I imagine ICE will have a field day imprisoning visiting athletes and tourists.
Off the travel subject, but a really BIG deal here.
If anyone is wondering WHY the Asian central banksters have been aggressively selling paper with ink on it and buying Gold…
The huge pile of Debt that can go to ZERO when they cannot sell the next tranch to pay the interest on the old holdings.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/uncategorized/sovereign-debt-crisis-unfolding/?
Europeans are well treated. They’re not chained, not put on cargo planes and are not detained in El Salvador prison.
What special treatment do you want?
These policies are not new. US border guards were always very tough, and if they found something that could be linked to a job, tough luck.
I suppose two things have changed:
Border crossing from Mexico during Biden was a walk in the park, and that is no longer the case.
Secondly, with Trump’s controversial steps, for state sponsored media like Deutsche Welle (DW), it is open season vis-a-vis the US.
I’m heading back to Canada on the 31st for a week to visit my family.
If Mish posts another article around April 6th or so I’ll let you know what my experience was coming back in (Toronto airport, one of the worst places to enter). Over the decades of living here on TN visas I’ve had many different experiences from being just waved in without even talking to me to being rejected and sent back because i’s weren’t dotted and t’s weren’t crossed.
Be prepared for the latter, this is Trump’s America now and ironically, you wanted this so you reap what you sow.
I have a secret weapon. The NEXUS card lets you travel like a VIP (to me it’s more valuable than my passport). You get a special line and simply insert the card into a special machine and get waved through. Normally you do not talk to anyone because the card has already cleared you (the interview process to get the card on the other hand takes a couple of hours or longer).
So I’ll be interested to see if they’ve changed anything on that front (I used the card in Oct when returning from the UK with just a friendly wave).
Saw the reaping and sowing under Biden and wasn’t interested in it continuing under Harris.
Wait till they cut your social security and medicare, that’s when the real regret will kick in for ya….
I can see doing this to Brits, but what did Germany ever do to us?
We’ve got a guy who lives in Germany, who has a fiancé in Nevada and they take the dog to Mexico for veterinarian services?
Color me suspicious also!
I am disgusted by this.
Well there you go. A free subscription to this blog for you!
Stories like these have me wondering how close we are to the border being designed to keep US in?
I was just about to write a comment about that wall Trump wants finally coming to fruition but the real intent is to keep American slaves from leaving.
Ironically, it’s finally starting to sink in on why everyone needs an exit strategy. The slow ones will get left behind and the smart ones will be free.
Reminds me of an old quote from nazi Germany, “The pessimists went to New York and the optimists went to Auschwitz.”
Insulting you are saying MAGA will be in Auschwitz.
Unfortunately, that might be next
My advices is for the Europeans, Canada and Mexico to respond in kind to US travellers. Then see what happens.
Sure. Like hostages, they can trade them back and forth.
You stop a bully by punching back, not cowering.
I did that in 6th grade. Broke his nose!
There is no place for European socialists in the USA.
Says the guy with European ancestry on social security and medicare…..
We have people in this country with European ancestry? I’m shocked!
I heard that they’ve always been thorough with security at Logan Airport.
Too soon