The Trump Administration Doesn't Welcome ANY Visitors To The U.S.

You might have thought that only immigrants were unwelcome in the United States, but the Trump administration has broadened that to apply to ALL visitors - even tourists from our friendly countries and those with a work visa.

Take, for instance, Canadian Jasmine Mooney. She had been working in the United States on a B-1 visa. When her visa expired, she went to a facility at the southern border (because it was closest to Los Angeles - where she had been working). 

But an ICE official decided that her renewal request was "fishy", and denied her entry back into the United States. Now, he should have dropped the matter right there since she was willing to go back to Canada (and pay her own way to do so), but he didn't. He has her put in handcuffs and arrested (even though she had committed no crime. She was then taken to a detention facility, and over the next couple of weeks was transferred to another two private detention facilities. Finally,  after 12 days, she was allowed to fly back to Canada.

The same ordeal was imposed on a British woman and two German tourists - and who knows how many more. None of these people had broken any law and none had a record of lawbreaking. But the Trump administration doesn't seem to care. They seem to be trying to make it very hard for anyone to enter this country.

This has caused Canada and several European nations (all friends of this country) to issue a travel advisory for their citizens thinking of coming to the United States.

You might be thinking that these visitors had some rights that had been violated, but the only thing violated was common decency. The New York Times explains:

What rights do visitors have?

U.S. federal law gives government agents the right to search people’s property, including their phones and laptops, at border entry points. They do not need to be suspected of wrongdoing in order to be searched, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

All visitors have the right to remain silent. But the burden of proof rests with visa holders. For example, if an officer asks if someone plans to work on their tourist visa, and that person remains silent, the officer is likely to deny them entry.

If a person is found inadmissible during questioning, they can withdraw their intent to enter the country and may then be allowed to travel back to their home country. Their visa is canceled and they often get the next flight home. But an officer can deny the withdrawal, at which point the visitor is detained.

Because these confrontations occur technically outside the country, the rights outlined in the U.S. Constitution do not apply, and detainees are not necessarily entitled to a lawyer. The government has about 90 days to deport people. That period can be extended if detainees don’t cooperate by providing the correct travel documents, at which point they can be subject to criminal proceedings. Following an order of removal, people are barred from entering the U.S. for five years.