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British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

theguardian.com

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Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#71

Post by gopher_space »

averageRoyalty wrote: post #41
viraptor wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, they could consider detention. But then there are daily flights back to the UK. Anything beyond an overnight stay (if necessary for the wait) is unfair.

I'm not convinced it's the Americans responsibility to get her back to a suitable international airport as quickly as possible and put her in the next flight out. 10 days does seem excessive, but I don't see why she should be a priority either. I would imagine up to 5 working days fits within the realm of 'reasonable'.

Feel free to not encage people if you don't like the responsibility.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#72

Post by ajmurmann »

layman51 wrote: post #57

Earlier this month, the Guardian also had an article of a German tourist who crossed over the land border (San Ysidro Port of Entry, I assume) who was detained for a long while too. The details seemed kind of similar to this situation where it involves suspicion of tourists working in the USA without the proper authorizations.

It seems like there was good reason for these concerns that the person was going to work. However, the person was right there at the border. Why did we not just turn them back around. I don't think they had overstayed their time in Mexico? Further they had a return flight weeks ago. AFAIk we have been paying to keep this person detained for over a month now. Why not at least put them on their original flight back. This entire approach with detention and deportations seems a very expensive solution.

Edit: In general it seems that if the goal is to reduce illegal immigration, it would be much cheaper to deter most illegal migrants who generally come for economic reasons by fining employers of workers without permits. Instead of cost it brings in money and the illegal workers will deport themselves if all work dries up.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#73

Post by dghlsakjg »

layman51 wrote: post #57

Earlier this month, the Guardian also had an article of a German tourist who crossed over the land border (San Ysidro Port of Entry, I assume) who was detained for a long while too. The details seemed kind of similar to this situation where it involves suspicion of tourists working in the USA without the proper authorizations.

While I don't like the whole "detaining people instead of just turning them around", but the German you are referring to was a tattoo artist who had posted on their instagram that they were doing pop-up tattoo events in LA, and then tried to enter on a tourist visa. She very much was in violation of the law, in other words.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#74

Post by wat10000 »

averageRoyalty wrote: post #41
viraptor wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, they could consider detention. But then there are daily flights back to the UK. Anything beyond an overnight stay (if necessary for the wait) is unfair.

I'm not convinced it's the Americans responsibility to get her back to a suitable international airport as quickly as possible and put her in the next flight out. 10 days does seem excessive, but I don't see why she should be a priority either. I would imagine up to 5 working days fits within the realm of 'reasonable'.

A full work week in jail for something that isn’t even a crime is ridiculous.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#75

Post by immibis »

kennysoona wrote: post #22
decimalenough wrote: post #14

If she is on a "four-month backpacking trip around North America" and tried to return to the US, she has exceeded the 90-day limit allowed by the Visa Waiver Program (which counts days both in the US and "adjacent territories") and is now an illegal overstayer. The unpaid labor stuff and getting refused entry to Canada is icing on the cake. For the record, I'm no fan of ICE/CBP, but it looks like they're just enforci…

There's a right and a wrong way to enforce the law, though. Putting her in a literal prison and in an orange jumpsuit is overkill. Clearly she just screwed up and thought what she was doing was ok, but isn't a threat. Let her go back to the UK and no longer be eligible for ESTA. How is that not sufficient?

BTW this would not be the public majority opinion if she was a black man.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#76

Post by j7ake »

hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #47
quackscience wrote: post #8

Probably shouldn't tell border patrol you're doing unpaid labor in a country you're visiting. When speaking to authorities it's best to say the absolute minimum required for the encounter.

Statements like these make me happy I live in Europe.

It is way harder for an Iranian to travel to Europe as a tourist than for them to travel to USA. Especially if you travel often like once a year.

USA has 10 year tourist visas. Europe gives you the bare minimum to visit every time.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#77

Post by jmyeet »

Here's an example of how broken the discourse is over immigration and how the media has grossly failed with their responsibility in reporting something remotely factual.

The majority of undocumented migrants aren't border crosses. They're visa overstayers [1].

And of course the "migrant crime" hysteria is completely made up. Despite there being at least 10 million undocumented migrants, the number of murders commited by both documented and undocumented migrants in 2024 was 29 [2]. Not 29,000. TWENTY NINE. That's a per-capita crime rate significantly lower than the American population.

[1]: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/16/686056668/for-seventh-consecu...

[2]: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistic...

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#78

Post by n1b0m »

A similar story about Ice detaining a German tourist in California indefinitely. Jessica Brösche has spent more than a month in detention center after being denied entry at San Diego from Mexico.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/ice-german-t...

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#79

Post by davidgay »

kccqzy wrote: post #66
korkybuchek wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but are they absolutely prohibited from work of any kind? Generally yes. But you can have on-campus jobs to supplement your income, and there are at least two programs (CPT and OPT) that let you get approval for limited-term employment in your area of study. CPT also requires university approval.

Both would require university approval. OPT is literally structured as a course at the university.

You can also do OPT "post-completion" of your degree - this also gives your (new) employer some time to apply for a longer-term work visa.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#80

Post by scarface_74 »

kennysoona wrote: post #22
decimalenough wrote: post #14

If she is on a "four-month backpacking trip around North America" and tried to return to the US, she has exceeded the 90-day limit allowed by the Visa Waiver Program (which counts days both in the US and "adjacent territories") and is now an illegal overstayer. The unpaid labor stuff and getting refused entry to Canada is icing on the cake. For the record, I'm no fan of ICE/CBP, but it looks like they're just enforci…

There's a right and a wrong way to enforce the law, though. Putting her in a literal prison and in an orange jumpsuit is overkill. Clearly she just screwed up and thought what she was doing was ok, but isn't a threat. Let her go back to the UK and no longer be eligible for ESTA. How is that not sufficient?

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