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Travel Advisory: Trump’s America [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-03-25

Recent incidents illustrate the severe treatment of foreign visitors under current U.S. immigration enforcement. For example, Jasmine Mooney (35), a Canadian citizen, was detained for two weeks by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). You should read her first-person account at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney. Her experience and detainment involved actions that happen in a police state. Chilling!

UK backpacker Becky Burke (28) was detained by ICE for 19 days and then transported to the airport in leg chains, waist chains, and handcuffs before departing home. (Source: https://www.thedailybeast.com/uk-tourist-becky-burke-returns-home-in-chains-like-hannibal-lecter/)

Lucas Sielaff, (25) a German national, entered the country from Mexico with his American fiancée. Despite holding a valid 90‑day U.S. visa, he was detained at the border and held by ICE for two weeks before being forced to return to Germany. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/11/german-tourists-ordeal-reportedly-ending-returned-from-us-detention)

ICE held another German citizen, Jessica Brösche (26), for 45 days before she was allowed to return to Germany—eight of those days were spent in solitary confinement. The ICE facility contractor CoreCivic used the euphemism “restrictive housing.” (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/11/german-tourists-ordeal-reportedly-ending-returned-from-us-detention)

Fabian Schmidt (34), a permanent U.S. resident originally from Germany, was detained by ICE after returning from Luxembourg on March 7, 2025, and remains in custody. His family claims he was subjected to violent interrogation. (Source: https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2025/03/21/family-of-german-national-detained-at-logan-alleges-mistreatment-by-border-patrol/)

These cases are part of a broader pattern of increasingly harsh enforcement measures. It should be clear that under Trump, America is becoming a police state—and with Trump, brutality is always the point. Individuals are being detained for deportation in violation of free speech rights, like Mahmoud Kahlil.

Venezuelan immigrants, many who had committed no crime, were deported (aka disappeared) to a brutal prison in El Salvador without due process. The legal struggle on behalf of these 260+ people is raging in the Federal District Court and Appellate Court in Washington, D.C. Trump’s hatred of Madura, the president of Venezuela, likely motivated sending Venezuelans to El Salvador since he could have simply deported them to Venezuela, but that would not have served his invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and his assertion that Madura is directing members of the gang Tren de Aragua, which they are not. Despite all of this being Trump’s convenient deportation fantasy, if the plaintiffs do not prevail, no one is safe in America. For information, see https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/alien-enemies-act-explained.

The individual cases above make clear that Trump’s disdain for Canada and Europe is being reflected in the extraordinarily harsh treatment ICE is using against tourists. Based on the alarming accounts detailed above, we are issuing a travel advisory regarding America: Don’t come! This is a dangerous country where the rule of law and due process are no longer being honored in some quarters. You will not be treated well by officials of this police state. It is not yet “cruel and unusual punishment,” but you can expect “harsh and unreasonable treatment.” Visit Canada. It’s great like America was BT (Before Trump). You’ll love Mexico. There are so many other great destinations around the globe. Go there. They will actually welcome you—like we used to.

Time left to January 20, 2029: 1,397 days

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/25/2312391/-Travel-Advisory-Trump-s-America?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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