Detentions Of European Tourists At U.S. Borders Spark Fears Of Traveling To America | EUROtoday

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Lennon Tyler and her German fiancé typically took highway journeys to Mexico when he vacationed within the United States because it was solely a day’s drive from her dwelling in Las Vegas, one of many perks of their long-distance relationship.

But issues went terribly improper once they drove again from Tijuana final month.

U.S. border brokers handcuffed Tyler, a U.S. citizen, and chained her to a bench, whereas her fiancé, Lucas Sielaff, was accused of violating the foundations of his 90-day U.S. vacationer allow, the couple mentioned. Authorities later handcuffed and shackled Sielaff and despatched him to a crowded U.S. immigration detention middle. He spent 16 days locked up earlier than being allowed to fly dwelling to Germany.

Since President Donald Trump took workplace, there have been different high-profile incidents of vacationers like Sielaff being stopped at U.S. border crossings and held for weeks at U.S. immigration detention services earlier than being allowed to fly dwelling at their very own expense.

They embody one other German vacationer who was stopped on the Tijuana crossing on Jan. 25. Jessica Brösche spent over six weeks locked up, together with over every week in solitary confinement, a good friend mentioned.

On the Canadian border, a backpacker from Wales spent practically three weeks at a detention middle earlier than flying dwelling this week. And a Canadian lady on a piece visa detained on the Tijuana border spent 12 days in detention earlier than returning dwelling final weekend.

Sielaff, 25, and the others say it was by no means made clear why they have been taken into custody even after they provided to go dwelling voluntarily.

Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee, a nonprofit that aids migrants, mentioned within the 22 years he has labored on the border he has by no means seen vacationers from Western Europe and Canada, longtime U.S. allies, locked up like this.

“It’s definitely unusual with these cases so close together, and the rationale for detaining these people doesn’t make sense,” he mentioned. “It doesn’t justify the abhorrent treatment and conditions” they endured.

“The only reason I see is there is a much more fervent anti-immigrant atmosphere,” Rios mentioned.

U.S. authorities didn’t reply to a request from The Associated Press for figures on what number of vacationers have been held at detention services or clarify why they weren’t merely denied entry.

The incidents are fueling nervousness because the Trump administration prepares for a ban on vacationers from some international locations. Noting the “evolving” federal journey insurance policies, the University of California, Los Angeles despatched a discover this week urging its foreign-born college students and employees to contemplate the dangers of non-essential journey for spring break, warning “re-entry requirements may change while you are away, impacting your return.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement mentioned in an e mail to the AP that Sielaff and Brösche, who was held for 45 days, “were deemed inadmissible” by Customs and Border Protection. That company mentioned it can’t focus on specifics however “if statutes or visa terms are violated, travelers may be subject to detention and removal.” The businesses didn’t touch upon the opposite circumstances.

Both German vacationers have been allowed into the United States underneath a waiver program provided to a choose group of nations, largely in Europe and Asia, whose residents are allowed to journey to the U.S. for enterprise or leisure for as much as 90 days with out getting a visa upfront. Applicants register on-line with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization.

But even when they’re approved to journey underneath that system, they’ll nonetheless be barred from coming into the nation.

Sielaff arrived within the U.S. on Jan. 27. He and Tyler determined to go to Tijuana for 4 days in mid-February as a result of Tyler’s canine wanted surgical procedure and veterinary providers are cheaper there. They figured they might take pleasure in some tacos and make a enjoyable journey out of it.

“Mexico is a wonderful and beautiful country that Lucas and I love to visit,” Tyler mentioned.

They returned Feb. 18, simply 22 days into Sielaff’s 90-day vacationer allow.

When they pulled as much as the crossing, the U.S. border agent requested Sielaff aggressively, “Where are you going? Where do you live?” Tyler mentioned.

“English is not Lucas’ first language and so he said, ‘We’re going to Las Vegas,’ and the agent says, ’Oh, we caught you. You live in Las Vegas. You can’t do that,’” Tyler mentioned, recounting what occurred.

Sielaff was taken away for extra questioning. Tyler mentioned she requested to go together with him or if he might get a translator and was informed to be quiet, then taken out of her automobile and handcuffed and chained to a bench. Her canine, recovering from surgical procedure, was left within the automobile.

After 4 hours, Tyler was allowed to depart however mentioned she was given no details about her fiancé’s whereabouts.

During questioning, Sielaff mentioned he informed authorities he by no means lived within the U.S. and had no prison historical past. He mentioned he was given a full-body search and ordered handy over his cellphone and belongings. He was put in a holding cell the place he slept on a bench for 2 days earlier than being transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego.

There, he mentioned, he shared a cell with eight others.

“You are angry, you are sad, you don’t know when you can get out,” Sielaff mentioned. “You just don’t get any answers from anybody.”

He was lastly informed to get a direct flight to Germany and submit a affirmation quantity. In a frantic name from Sielaff, Tyler purchased it for $2,744. He flew again March 5.

“What happened at the border was just blatant abuse of the Border Patrol’s power,” Tyler mentioned.

Ashley Paschen agrees. She mentioned she realized about Brösche from a TikTook video asking anybody within the San Diego space for assist after her household realized she was being held on the Otay Mesa Detention Center. Paschen visited her a number of instances and informed her individuals have been working to get her out. Brosche flew dwelling March 11.

“She’s happy to be home,” Paschen mentioned. “She seems very relieved if anything but she’s not coming back here anytime soon.”

On Feb. 26, a vacationer from Wales, Becky Burke, a backpacker on a visit throughout North America, was stopped on the U.S.-Canada border and held for practically three weeks at a detention facility in Washington state, her father, Paul Burke, posted on Facebook. She returned dwelling Tuesday.

On March 3, Canadian Jasmine Mooney, an actress and entrepreneur who had a visa to work within the U.S., was detained on the Tijuana crossing. She was launched Saturday, her good friend Brittany Kors mentioned.

Before Mooney’s launch, British Columbia Premier David Eby expressed concern, saying, “It certainly reinforces anxiety that many British Columbians have, and many Canadians have, about our relationship with the U.S. right now, and the unpredictability of this administration and its actions.”

The detentions come amid authorized fights over the Trump administration’s arrests and deportations of different foreigners with legitimate visas and inexperienced card holders, together with a Palestinian activist who helped manage campus protests of the conflict in Gaza.

Tyler plans to sue the U.S. authorities.

Sielaff mentioned he and Tyler at the moment are rethinking plans to carry their wedding ceremony in Las Vegas. He suffers nightmares and is contemplating remedy to deal with the trauma.

“Nobody is safe there anymore to come to America as a tourist,” he mentioned.

Associated Press author Rob Gillies reported from Toronto.