At the US borders, tourists’ nightmare continues. Several European and Canadian tourists have spoken about traumatizing experiences. They were detained for days or even weeks, despite having valid documents.
Among them is a Canadian actress who was imprisoned for 12 days and says she felt „kidnapped,” a German tourist declares he „still has nightmares,” and the parents of a young Welsh woman pleaded with authorities for 18 days to release their daughter.
Trauma of tourists detained at the border
The recent experiences of European and Canadian tourists at the US border raise serious questions about increasingly strict control policies.
Financial Times spoke with Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney, who was imprisoned for 12 days in a detention center after trying to renew her work visa at the border.
"I felt kidnapped and forced to participate in some kind of crazy social, psychological experiment," the woman said about the trauma she went through.
"He's not Hannibal Lecter!"
Another outrageous case is that of Becky Burke, a Welsh tourist detained for 19 days because she allegedly had a wrong visa. Her parents desperately tried to secure her release, pleading with authorities for 18 days.
28-year-old Becky Burke was on a North American trip when she was detained and locked up in a detention center.
Her parents, Paul and Andrea Burke from Portskewett, Monmouthshire, stated that their daughter is "traumatized" after being transported to the airport with "shackles on her legs, waist chains, and handcuffs."
"He's not Hannibal Lecter!" exclaimed her indignant father, Paul Burke, to BBC.
German tourist: "I still have nightmares"
Lucas Sielaff, a 25-year-old German tourist, was detained for 16 days, despite having a valid entry permit and having visited the US multiple times.
He was in a line of cars, waiting to cross from Mexico into the United States when a border patrol officer, upon seeing his German passport, stopped him.
He was handcuffed and interrogated for hours on end, only being released after two and a half weeks. "I still have nightmares [about that experience], I haven't returned to normal," he confessed to the Financial Times.
"I'm trying to process everything properly. It will take some time."
These harrowing accounts could harm the tourism and hospitality sector in the United States, which accounted for approximately 11% of jobs in the US and contributed $2.36 trillion to the economy last year, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Roland Lescure, a French deputy representing French citizens in North America, mentioned that some expatriates are reconsidering their decision to live across the Atlantic, and a recent survey revealed that about 19% of them do not feel safe. According to Lescure, the message in recent weeks is clear: travelers need to be increasingly cautious when crossing the US border, and he warned, "The home of freedom and courage is turning into a very different place."
D.D.