Are you wary of travelling to USA currently?

She was meant to be working on the tattoo of the friend she was travelling with (seemingly, one does the others' tattoos, one makes the other's clothes). I'm not sure if that is actually considered "work" for visa purposes.

In any event, she would normally have been immediately deported and the present situation does sound legally unusual. More on that towards the end of CNN's article.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/world/german-detained-ice-intl-latam/index.html

What have answering work emails got to do with carrying equipment that you’d only have on you if you intended to work whilst in that location?! You might easily have a laptop with you to watch films on the flight or use the internet whilst you’re away. Tattoo equipment is so you can tattoo other people - probably for money. You don’t generally travel on holiday with tattoo equipment for personal use. I’m not going to get into the issue of detaining people for crimes they think you might commit in the future - thems the rules and if you want to rock up to the US boarder as a solo traveller who looks like they might be trying to live and work in the US with a tourist visa waiver, you’re going to be caught. They’re strict and most people travelling to the US know this.

She’s in indefinite detention and spent a week in solitary confinement because they suspected that she might later violate the terms of the visa waiver programme. She hadn’t actually been allowed into the country yet, she was detained at the border. This is minority report style pre-crime stuff. Normal, healthy democracies don’t imprison people indefinitely for crimes they suspect they might commit in future. Being turned away at the border or banned from re-entry is to be expected. Being imprisoned “indefinitely” is not, and I find it unfathomable that anyone could defend it. How many of us have never answered a work email or logged into a work system from a holiday before? Would you be OK with one of your family being put into solitary confinement because they answered work emails on a holiday or even just because they had their laptop with them and the border team thought they planned to use it to work.

Haven’t RTFT so don’t know if anyone else has raised this, but I wouldn’t go to the US if there was any chance I could be pregnant. I couldn’t risk being denied lifesaving medical care in the event of a miscarriage (I’ve needed treatment for missed miscarriage in the past).

It’s a sad state of affairs! I’ve lived in New York in the past and I’m sure I’ll go back one day…

Because, I suppose, by the time she’d been subject to a search, she’d already entered US soil. They’d want to process her so they knew who she was and to prevent her returning.

Why let her over the Mexican border at all then? I know of Irish people turned back at enroute airport American visa checkpoints and not allowed to go any further because they think they are going to work, they don't let them continue flying on to America and then detain them for deportation.

I'm boycotting in support of Canada, so I wouldn't travel to the US based on that alone right now, never mind all the other insanity.

Trump announced in his speech last night that he is getting Greenland one way or another!

Slight misrepresentation of the situation. The tourist was trying to enter the US carrying tattoo equipment, which indicated she intended to work whilst in the US, which would violate the terms of her visa waiver. She’s being held until she’s deported back to Germany. You don’t fuck around with US immigration.

I’ve never thought that we would have to deal with a ground invasion - am almost sure it wouldn’t happen but with the way Trump reacts, who knows? Originally I’d thought living near the border was good, now not so sure.

My goodness, just seen that story and it's nuts.

@CanadaNotAMum We're also close to the border and giving serious thought to what we'd do in case of a ground invasion. I don't think it's likely but it does not feel impossible.

There's a German tourist with a valid passport, visa and return flight - which she has now missed--being detained by ICE for the last few weeks..... Nope I don't think I'd risk the US at the minute

I really would still go! This is what bullies do. Make you all scared. If we are advised not to go, that’s different. Don’t be bullied into changing plans.

From our point of view, I’ve spoke to our tour operator this morning and their USA agents are briefing them regularly on how they think holidays may, or may not, be affected. Summer temp recruitment is going ahead. Most people laid off were probationers. Not that I agree with that because any service needs to replenish itself. Also the hotel we are staying at in the park is a concession. They don’t anticipate any NP we are going to closing. Maybe longer queues for entry and fewer talks from rangers. So we are obviously still going.

I’m thinking the same thing. I’ve got a trip to India booked for November.

We are supposed to be going to Japan this year, but with the international situation deteriorating so rapidly I'm having doubts about any long-haul trips for a while yet.

Edited: sorry, did some back scrolling and can now see someone else has already said this!

Sadly Cadbury is no longer a British chocolate 😕.US conglomerate Kraft/Mondelez bought it out a few years ago with a hostile takeover.

I'm making a conscious choice now to buy European/Canadian/Australian products. I've been surprised at what I'd considered quintessential European or British brands are actually US owned.

About flight safety and maintenance and research in parks and on trails:

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/24/us/delta-flight-haze-evacuation-emergency/index.html

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/25/us/chicago-midway-airport-near-miss-planes/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/25/federal-workers-mass-firings-reaction

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/24/us/national-park-rangers-layoffs/index.html

I saw that and it aligns with my research for non-US brands. Often the packaging shows two brands, the main brand and in smaller font on the back the corporation that the brand belongs to.
Many brands have a wikipedia entry, if you have a few minutes, there often will be the answers about the owners.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondelez_International

Or go for Laura Secord, now in Canadian hands again.

I went in our local Le Beau Marché and they had Nestle and Lindt - I’m buying these now. There is also a brand produced in Vancouver but can’t remember the name.

@CanadaNotAMum Oh no!! Try Nestle brands. Swiss! As for USA siding with Russia and North Korea at the UN?!! What a dangerous world we now live in. Hopefully USA citizens are stronger than a Trump dictatorship.

Thank you for the Cadbury info! This situation might be the thing that makes me give up chocolate entirely.

@CanadaNotAMum Ww keep a copy of our passports with us. We have had quite a few holidays in Canada, most recently last September in Nova Scotia. Had an amazing week in the Great Bear Rainforest a few years ago. Always love Canada

By the way, I hate to tell you, but Cadbury is owned by an American company. Modelez. They makes Oreos and Toblerone. Cadbury sold around 15 years ago to Kraft Inc and are not British. Rowntree are part of Nesle: Swiss. Not American though.

I wouldn't go.

I don't fear civil war but I would expect prices to rise, crime to increase, health care (generally not just for pregnancies) to be even more compromised (as staff who can get work easily in other countries leave) and any federal run department such as air traffic safety to have more incidents over the next few years.

Decent healthcare is one of the first things I look for when I travel so that I know if my DC are unwell I can rely on the health system. I don't feel that way about the US.

They seem to be more targeted than that, they seem to know who they’re picking up before they do so. Even though it’s often unfair. And callous. And not usually aimed at British people.