Crossing the U.S. border has become a riskier proposition than it once was — even for Canadians.
Driving the news: Immigration lawyers are advising Canadians and other foreigners who work or study in the U.S. not to leave the country, warning that if they do, they risk being turned away or even detained at the border upon re-entry, per the Globe and Mail.
- Concerns have also grown for travellers after recent incidents of tourists being questioned and detained at the border.
Catch-up: Recent policy changes to speed up deportations of undocumented migrants have given U.S. border officers more discretion to detain non-U.S. citizens, even those with valid visas.
- According to some reports, tourists and legal immigrants who have made public political statements that oppose the positions of the Trump administration have been targeted under the crackdown.
Why it matters: For the ~800,000 Canadians who live legally in the States, leaving the U.S. at all has become a risk. The main concern is that minor paperwork issues, which in the past may have been overlooked — or, at worst, resulted in someone being turned away — are now landing travellers in detention facilities.
- A Canadian actress was recently detained at the U.S.-Mexico border over issues with her work visa and held in an ICE detention centre for 12 days.
Big picture: The border crackdown has stoked fears among Canadians about travelling to the U.S., whether it's for a vacation or even a quick business trip. As one U.S. immigration lawyer told the Globe and Mail, Canadians have long taken for granted how easily they can cross the border and, right now, they shouldn’t.—LA