I don't 'feel safe': How Trump is hurting tourism in America

22 March

two white and yellow train cabs

Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, reports of tourists and visitors from Canada, Europe and other parts of the world being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are growing.

Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney says she was held for 12 days in an ICE facility. Jessica Brösche, a German tattoo artist detained at the U.S./Mexico border, was held for over six weeks.

Rebecca Burke, a Welsh comic artist, was detained in an ICE facility in Washington State for 19days.

According to Salon's Tatyana Tandanpolie, some travel agents in Canada are now encouraging tourists not to visit the United States because of civil liberties concerns.

In an article published on March 22, Tandanpolie reports, "Since Trump took office in January, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained at least four tourists: three from Europe and one from Canada, each for upwards of 10 days after they attempted to enter the country. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has also been denying entry to foreign nationals — in one French scientist's case, doing so over text messages criticizing President Donald Trump. The combination has made potential visitors scared to travel to the U.S. out of fear they, too, will be detained, turned away or targeted."

Tandanpolie adds that some travel agents are now "loathe to encourage U.S.-bound trips altogether," including Ontario, Canada-based Micheline Dion.

Dion told Salon, "No one wants to enter a possible volatile situation and even worse be denied entry…. As long as there is no stability in the U.S., we will not feel safe or confident to go back…. If…. I'm not going to travel for my own safety, I'm going to educate other Canadians to do the same because the last thing you want is another something coming up saying, 'Oh, we're having trouble coming back home. They won't let us go. They've arrested us. They put us in a detention place.'"

Karen Wiese, another Ontario-based travel agent, is also advising against travel to the U.S.

Wiese told Salon, "I support a lot of different racialized and LGBTQ+ clients who are just very nervous about being attacked and going anywhere in the United States."

Facing detention in the U.S. "is terrifying for anybody who wants to be able to travel to a destination," Wiese noted, adding, "I'm all for my clients going to a different destination to just avoid anything like that that may happen…. It's been constant, people saying, 'We don't want to do this. What else can we do?' It's just a pivot moment where we look for something else. Mexico might be an easier place for them to visit."

Tatyana Tandanpolie's full article for Salon is available at this link.

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