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Comment by xadhominemx | Hacker News Reader

The USA hosts 35 million foreign visitors per year. These enforcement actions are absurd, but if you have your documents in order and are planing a normal tourist trip. you will be fine.

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Even during normal times with proper documentation I was detained for a few hours. This is something completely different. I’ve seen deportations immediately for wrong documents. I haven’t seen 14 days of arbitrary detention before for correct documents.

I don’t think the latter is happening. The multi-day detentions have all been related to actual immigration violations. Again, something I oppose very strongly but the notion your life will be severely negatively affected if you show up at the border as a normal tourist with normal travel documents is just incorrect. The worst thing that will happen is they send you home.

Well, then you're wrong. The latter is happening. It's the whole point of this thread but you seem confidently oblivious to it so I'll link a few.

Here's one: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-det...

More: https://thetrek.co/a-german-thru-hiker-has-been-detained-dep... https://www.10news.com/like-a-horror-movie-german-tourist-de... https://www.10news.com/news/team-10/it-is-like-jail-german-m...

I encourage you to read those articles!

I only linked you cases where people had valid legal visas. What are you expecting me to find?

Canadian entered to work without a valid visa, as the article states, her visa had been revoked in November and she was aware of this - she should have arranged a visa at an overseas consulate before crossing the border

German backpacker was detained for hours not days

German tattoo artist arrived with a tourist visa with supplies for working

German fiancé — not a normal tourist case but yes this seems to have been a mistake by CPB

Again, the conditions and duration of detention are absurd but normal tourists are not being detained for days

> Canadian entered to work without a valid visa, as the article states, her visa had been revoked in November and she was aware of this - she should have arranged a visa at an overseas consulate before crossing the border

I'm not seeing that.

>After a long interrogation, the officer told me it seemed “shady” and that my visa hadn’t been properly processed. He claimed I also couldn’t work for a company in the US that made use of hemp – one of the beverage ingredients. He revoked my visa, and told me I could still work for the company from Canada

“ He revoked my visa, and told me I could still work for the company from Canada, but if I wanted to return to the US, I would need to reapply.”

The notion that you will be stabbed by a muslim in the tubes is also just incorrect, yet look at the public perception. It's the same in this case. The USA is degrading fast in the public opinion abroad and this will have consequences.

I'm not saying that's not what Americans want, maybe they do, but Trump is basically pissing away all leverage the US has with the rest of the free world. It's a shame.

I agree with you!

During the "good" times I was regularly chosen for random checks because I'm not white enough. I don't want to step in the US now.

They detained a green card holder who didn't break any laws and tortured him for weeks. They deported a French scientist over private speech after searching his phone. Why do you think all this is just going to be okay?

Tortured?

Technically if you’re Venezuelan you could be sent to be tortured in El Salvador

Complain to the Venezuelan government for not accepting their citizens back.

It's a crime to abduct someone and sell them to a third country's prison that they have no connection to.

https://www.wmur.com/article/german-national-fabian-schmidt-...

Maybe you don't consider being violently interrogated to the point of being hospitalized torture?

The situation is not good but let’s not lie. Green card holders returning from overseas have always been at high risk of encountering issues upon reentry. Overseas visitors working informally have likewise always risked detention and deportation. The gentleman in Boston was treated very badly, but his detention lasted hours, not days. Ordinary tourists are not being detained. I am a US Citizen who worked in the EU for some time and was detained upon initial arrival into the Schengen area while they checked into my work visa. The French scientist situation - very concerning, but they were just sent home. Hardly a reason to withhold a visit “unless your life depended on it”

I don't think permanent residents have ever faced this level of blatant harassment from any administration.

This is disingenuous at best. It's not just anectodal evidence. People are concerned with the clear trend. Abuse of visitors is increasing indiscriminately, where will it stop?

Well a researcher was denied entry because his messages against Trump were deemed terrorism https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/trump-musk-f...

I would be scared of that as a tourist, and I guess a lot of other people would be as well. Not just because of being denied entry but for the possible investigations one could face

I don't know what actually happened, but the current reporting is that he was turned back for other reasons:

U.S. Says Decision to Turn Back French Scientist Had Nothing to Do With Trump

The Department of Homeland Security said the academic was denied entry because he had 'confidential' data from an American lab, not because of his views on the president’s policies.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/world/europe/us-france-sc... (https://archive.is/z7mhZ)

Ok, that might put things into a reasonable perspective, but I do not know how much we can still trust government agencies right now

More accurately, people who travelled to the US in recent years were fine. The assumption that will continue to be the case is something every traveller needs to consider for themselves. It's not unreasonable for people to choose not to travel, just in case.

I agree with you. However, this is very different from “I would not travel to the US unless my life depends on it”

Hosted, past tense. There won't be 35 million visitors this year.

Honestly this seems to be a really short sighted view, none of the people that got arrested there really had reasonable grounds to be arrested, although I guess that legally they are "in the clear", but I am no expert, and this is high profile only because of the situation is absolutely absurd, and we are only two months in.

How many cases are not reported and as bad as this or worse? Am I willing to be gambling this?

What was wrong with the guy at Logan who they beat the shit out of?

Returning green card holder, who have always been subject to scrutiny. His treatment was absurd and unacceptable, but not a situation that would be faced by an ordinary tourist or business traveler.

What is meant by "returning green card holder" exactly? Return from a holiday abroad outside of the USA, or leaving the USA to live elsewhere for some time with no obvious intent to return?

A US green card holder leaving the country and returning for any reason

A permanent resident getting beaten is not a concern to you? Tourists have even less rights in US view than those, your arguments seems lacking any logic.

I wanted to bring my family to US for few weeks vacation but fuck hell no, you don't go to places where they insult and attack you for no reason.

It’s a major concern for me! But not something that is affecting normal tourists

I'm not sure I understand this.

A "green card" is a document showing permanent US residency. So it's something you "earn" after living lawfully in the US for several years.

Why would it require <<extra>> scrutiny compared to anyone else entering the US?

They always check to make sure you are not abandoning your residency

Nope.

https://thetrek.co/a-german-thru-hiker-has-been-detained-dep...

They didn’t even look at the documents she provided.

The current crackdown is absurd. But let’s be honest - this specific situation with the German backpacker is nothing new. If you show up at the border for an extended trip with no money, you are subject to extended examination. This happens all over the world.

But they didn’t examine the documents she provided.

How can you prove anything if they don’t look a your documents?

The hiker in question seems to be affiliated with the site hosting this article.

> Ed. note: Trek bloggers, including Ananias, are not paid to post their blogs on The Trek.

Yes, but they don’t get paid

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