EDIT: Consensus has been achieved, original post below. General consensus is that people haven’t had issues with US customs, as long as all the paperwork is in order.
Thanks to everyone who commented, I greatly appreciate your input!
Hey everyone!
For those that have crossed the US / Canadian border recently: what was your experience when going through US customs? Were you harassed / detained? Any tips to prepare for crossing?
My SO and I were talking earlier about having some family come up from the US to Canada to visit us. I suggested maybe they should wait a bit due to the apparent unhinged behaviour of US Customs; However, while my SO doesn’t deny the stories, she believes they might be rare cases & blown out of proportion by the media. She found out that the Vancouver woman that was detained for ~2 weeks also had improper paperwork - which is often left out by the media. While the detainment duration is still totally unjustified, the initial detainment was caused by the improper paperwork.
So I’m reaching out to those that actually cross the border to see what’s actually going on; as the media can be fanatical sometimes.
Thanks in advance!
I traveled in March for a prearranged work trip. The airport US customs asked way less this time and didn’t even question where or why. Much less hassle than before. The airport was empty for departing to USA due to travellers cancelling a lot of US trips, I assume at least at the airport I was at the border agents were told to make it easy because they needed tourism. But that is a guess.
I’m a US citizen, I had no issues when I returned a few weeks ago, just a few basic questions.
My wife, a CA citizen, US green card holder just returned to the country. She was driving back, and she had more questions and searches.
She had our dogs with her, and she had the rabies vaccines as required. They did search through her stuff a little, as she was bringing quite a bit back from Canada.
An acquaintance went down last week, they had their passports and paperwork in order, going down for the weekend. US Customs searched their phones, fingerprinted them, took photos of them, and then let them through.
I will not even consider going to the USA anymore.
Yeah that’s pretty shit.
They are rare, but a handful of people being denied due process and held in a cold detention cell for WEEKS is an excellent reason to not take any chances.
Normal people refusing to cross the border is an important consequence of authoritarianism.
Having said that, what is motivating? Your partner probably has nothing to do with geopolitics, and everything to do with wanting to see her family. It probably isn’t useful to discuss the facts of our current political environment when they aren’t really what are motivating her.
If the Vancouver woman you referred to is the same one I read about, she was addressing the paperwork issue and was arrested anyway. She told ICE she would pay for her own ticket to return to Canada and was detained in torture conditions anyway. When legal, press, and Canadian government attention were brought to bear, she was told “if you had just said you would pay for your own ticket you could have avoided all of this.”
Unless you are a white US citizen with significant money, I wouldn’t recommend leaving the country.
You should consider that snafus with paperwork have undoubtedly happened for as long as there has been a border between the two countries.
It’s not the paperwork that’s the issue.
It’s the harrassment and incarceration that’s the problem.
Consider this: If family coming to Canada isn’t a concern, why not go and see them instead?
I’m concerned about going to the US for the same reasons why I’m concerned about family coming to Canada: dealing with US customs.
However, they’re US citizens so I can’t imagine that they’d have paperwork to go back to the US. Then without paperwork to make mistakes on, they should be less likely to get incarcerated, right?
We used to visit US multiple times a year in the past, but no more. It’s always been a tense experience, but now I don’t even want to subject myself to this treatment - even if the chances of being detained are negligible. As far as I’m concerned, US is a hostile nation and I have no desire to contribute to their economy or tacitly support their aggression by visiting them.
I know someone who got turned away recently because they asked her what she thought of trump’s policies and she was foolishly honest
Holy shit. Do other countries ask these types of questions when trying to enter?
Oh yeah definitely in other active warzones too
Republicans are making everything about politics 🙄
My aunt told me about that today and I’ve been wanting to ask others about it.
Risk is likely very low but until things get better I wont risk it. The potential consequences are too high.
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Hm. I’ve seen her paperwork mentioned a few times, maybe they’ve stopped writing it because they think everyone knows now. I remember getting so annoyed at “DNA, the building blocks of life” but it really was new information to a lot of people. Honestly, the paperwork issue is what terrifies me. I had that same “paperwork” style issue maybe 20 years ago, and I’m so glad they just denied me entry.
I haven’t had any recent interactions, but if your family is white US citizens, I doubt there will be a problem. If they are pending on any immigration status, I would suggest they contact a lawyer before crossing the border.
I went to the States for work (training) in 2000 with only my drivers license for ID. I had no trouble getting into the States, and had to fill out a two-page form to get back into Canada. That hasn’t been possible since 9/11. I suspect paperwork will be a much bigger issue now than it was even last year.
If coming up to Canada from the US, you won’t even deal with US customs, only the Canadian CBSA. You will be fine coming INTO Canada.
You will still have to deal with CBP when returning to the US, just as I had to deal with CBSA when returning to Canada.
“Canadian border guards sent the family back to the U.S., where they entered a shadowy limbo — jailed in holding cells at the U.S. port of entry in Niagara Falls, N.Y., without a breath of outside air for nearly two weeks.”
Well, they are trying to immigrate into Canada, not just visit.
Lawyer says CBSA focused on small discrepancies to reject family that qualified for entry under exception
Canada has its own fair share of asshole border agents.
I’m just pointing out that if you get turned around for any reason, you will have to deal with CBP
I’ve crossed from Canada to the US (and back) twice since Trump took power. The questions asked by US border agents were the same as previous crossings.
I’m a Canadian citizen, so I suspect US citizens would have an even easier time. FWIW my party’s documents were in order.
I think there’s a lot of hyperbole at the moment. My crossing experience was unchanged.
Do they check your phone? Like someone else mentioned.
No. They asked their usual three or four questions and sent us on our way.
The only reply from an actual border crosser!
Yeah. I think there’s a lot of noise about what border agents can do if they feel like it, but I’m not sure if they actually use those powers in most interactions.
If you have your shit together, you’re fine. Afaik everyone who has had problems, has had a paperwork issue or did something stupid to trigger them. That’s when their disproportionate response starts.
This is a generous take on current CBP practices.
Many have been detained without legitimate cause or due process.
Generally it’s people of color who bear the brunt of injustice but I’ve heard stories of even white people facing challenges - being made to declare their love for the US or comment positively on the current US government for entry.
Its offputting enough to want to avoid the US unless absolutely necessary.
Many of us would not be able to declare our love for the US—certainly not convincingly. Being out into a position to do so could lead to an escalation.
This is exactly the kind of risk that some of us hope to avoid. It is totally wrong to say that there is no risk even if you “keep your shit together”.
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I really feel like if you’re coming i to it looking for a fight you’re going to find one. Other then that you’re probably fine. Unless your brown of course, but that’s always been a thing.
