U.S. border crackdowns catch Australian visitors in the net

Ask yourself before packing your bags for the USA: Is it worth the risk of ending in immigration treatment? DR Norm Sanders says.

A friend of mine returned from a two -week visit to California. I asked him how he went to coffee.

He replied:

“The journey was great, but the migration was really scary in Lax. A woman who was a little child in front of me began to question by authorities. On this journey, she was traveling on a US passport, but she was a dual citizen and previously entered the Australian passport.

My friend was worried that he would be the next with his long hair and black beard. However, he set out: “I think they had reached their deportation quotas throughout the day.”

Australian writer Alistair cuisine He wasn’t that lucky. Lately detained On his way to New York to visit his friends at Los Angeles International Airport for 12 hours.

Accordingly ABC:

Mr. Kitchen said ABC had withdrawn from the line at customs and was taken to a back room where his phone was seized.

“We both know why you’re here,” he said to a border agent.

When Mr. Kitchen became a student at Columbia University in New York last year, he discussed pro -Palestinian rallies on his personal blog on campus.

Mutch said, “The officer who detained me clearly told me, ‘The reason we detained you is caused by what you wrote about the protests in Columbia on the Internet,’ he said.

For 45 minutes, Mr. Kitchen said that he was “questioned” about his views on the conflict in the Middle East.

“I asked what I think about Israel, what I think about Palestine, what I thought about Hamas, what the protesting students think.”

“[I was asked] Whether I have Jewish friends or Muslim friends, how do I solve the conflict in the Middle East. “

Mr. Kitchen said that he had been asked many questions about the conflict in the Middle East.

Mr. Kitchen said that he “made a mistake” to give a officer to a officer, the phone password downloaded by Border Agents.

“I did this with stress, fatigue and fear,” he said.

“The officer came out victory and said, ‘On your phone, Mr. Kitchen, we found evidence of previous drug use’.”

Mr. Kitchen said he was accused of misleading himself because he did not declare drug use in the electronic system in the form of travel authorization (Esta).

“I panicked, I was afraid of this man, I was afraid of all the situation. He said to him, ‘Yes, I had consumed drugs before. I lived in New York for six years when Marihuana was legal.

“I think that millions of Australians have answered as I answered in a form that we all know, to make sure that I have not returned to the US land.”

Mr. Kitchen was detained until he was reserved in a flight house.

Im I don’t want this to anyone, ”he said.

“Florescent Bowel Bulbs” described a television, a basement with some instant noodles in a cup and a protection in a cup.

“Men and women are leaving. You are not allowed to talk to each other. But the hardest one is if you don’t know how long it will take there,” he said.

“There was a woman who surprised her eyes that begged in the guard, ‘Please tell me how long I will be.’

According to Mr. Kitchen, the guard pointed to another woman who said he was there for four days, covered with blankets in the corner of the room.

ABC requested comment US Customs and Border Protection. There was no answer.

Finally, Mr. Kitchen was allowed to call the Australian Consulate, who reported his mother that he was detained but could not tell him when he would be sent home.

Even after Mr. Kitchen’s flight, he was not allowed to get his phone back until more than 14 hours later.

Um I was hoping to call my mother desperately, texting my mother, sending a message to the people I wanted to stay in New York.

“We don’t know when the consulate can give you back to you or choose to keep it back on the flight, and when they choose and why it is not.”

Alistair cuisine described to ABC is now a common event in the entrance halls all over the USA

Of course, US immigration officials can be difficult even before the Trump world. A few years ago, I went to Hawaii for a holiday with my wife Sue Arnold. There was no problem and quickly went into the baggage collection area.

The authorized Australian looked at my passport harshly and then he said:

“But you were born in Cleveland, Ohio.”

I answered:

“Yes. I gave up my US citizenship.”

He punched a button and the two policemen detained me. I sat for an hour in a room full of silent travelers. We were all afraid of talking so that we could say something that a listening device could buy and use against us. Finally, the door opened and Sue came to the room with an official. He pointed to me and said “This is my husband! Let it go!” And they did it quickly.

Things are much worse now. Anu Law Professor Donald Rothwell says it is does not accept anymore The invitations to be discussed in the United States now:

“In the Gulf of Guantánamo, foreign policy, war forces criticize the United States a lot of comments. I just want to take risks.”

Professor Rothwell warned about long -term results:

After rejecting the entrance to the US, this will go to your emigration record – and you will probably not be suitable for VWP [Visa Waiver Program] in the future.

It can also affect your ability to travel to other countries. In future visa applications, you may be requested to be deported or rejected or if you have been rejected, and you may need to answer ‘yes’.

If you have been detained or questioned by US border officials, it is very important to stay calm and know your limited rights.

Certainly you have the right to support the consular … The detained people have the right to telephone conversation, a family, a friend or a consulate.

Rothwell adds:

However, the consulate’s ability to intervene and help you on your behalf will be quite limited.

Before you have a legal solution for your case, you can find yourself waiting for a very important time … Put yourself into purgatory for days and weeks, even if not for a few months.

Big Brother Donald is watching you. Yes, You.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd1apd45pj8

DR Norm Sanders is an old commercial pilot, flight Trainer, university professor, Tasmania State Deputy and Federal Senator.

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