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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

#231

Post by _DeadFred_ »

kennysoona wrote: post #193
ty6853 wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't worry they do it to citizens too. On one occasion CBP told me they would not let me enter the country. On another they imprisoned me for ~12 hours, on another they asked me if I work in the US and tried to demand ever more intrusive questions about it. ... I am us citizen presenting with us passport, look and talk extremely white with no foreign accent.

How did your situation resolve? Did you sue them?

Dude has said on here before that they voluntarily went to Syria to join in the conflict so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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

#232

Post by necovek »

wat10000 wrote: post #178
necovek wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed as well. But the question is punted down to how do you decide if someone is breaking minor rules or major ones instead? AFAIK, US usually resolves that with courts (in this case Immigration Court). That requires a court date which is not as quick to come by. The way to improve the situation for the future is to introduce changes to the law to allow voluntary deportation for anyone who's not a wanted criminal —…

Court is not the only way. How many people do you know who got thrown in jail for a minor speeding offense? The system is plainly capable of distinguishing between “needs to go to jail until they can see a judge” and “can go home” cases. This one is just silly, though: it’s “must go home” combined with “can’t leave.” You can have a system that treats people humanely. We choose not to.

You are not wrong: I am saying that the laws could be improved to clearly define how immigrants are treated and to offer them a default option of "voluntary deportation" at their own cost.

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

#233

Post by decimalenough »

wat10000 wrote: post #228
caseyy wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s normal for detention in such scenarios to take months in both the US and Germany. Since about 2001, it has been limited in the US to 180 days. In Germany, detention is reviewed every six months, and some people are granted exceptional leave to remain, but it is not capped. Immigration offenses are much more severe than an administrative penalty for speeding. Largely, no one debates that.

They keep people locked up for six months before sending them home?

There are plenty of people who have spent years in immigration detention in places like Thailand and the Philippines because they can't afford the cost of the flight out, and they can't earn the money because they're stuck in detention.

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

#234

Post by ty6853 »

_DeadFred_ wrote: post #231
kennysoona wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did your situation resolve? Did you sue them?

Dude has said on here before that they voluntarily went to Syria to join in the conflict so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

... on the US allied side. The government has known this for 10+ years, if it was illegal I'd have already went to jail. Look up Ashley Cervantes case if you don't believe it can't happen to anybody.

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

#235

Post by robertlagrant »

hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #213
robertlagrant wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you live in Europe you'll need a visa to work in the US. You want to live in the US to not need the visa.

Well, I live in Europe and work for an American company and I don't need a visa. In general, the USA is a very nice country to visit but for long-term living I prefer the EU.

Are you saying you're in the US working without a visa?

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

#236

Post by davkan »

necovek wrote: post #116
kennysoona wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

There is only one way to enforce the law, which is to enforce it upon learning of all the circumstances, both in favour and not in favour of the accused. The fact that you are not familiar with the law never protects you by design ("oh sorry, I never realised I wasn't allowed to just take their bike and ride away") — so it's upon the courts to make judgement on the entire set of circumstances. The problem with any im…

At almost every level officers and officials have the ability to exercise discretion in their enforcement of the law. What happened to this lady was likely within the confines of the law but was it justice?

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

#237

Post by latency-guy2 »

kennysoona wrote: post #220
latency-guy2 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suggest you read up on your country's actual visa violation punitive assessment. You'll be surprised I guarantee it if this is your "European" perspective. The countries who can enforce their visa terms, do. And Europeans are no different, some are even worse than US treatment they're getting.

> some are even worse than US treatment they're getting. Show one comparable story from an EU country.

I'm curious if you think there is actually none before I go any further

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

#238

Post by kennysoona »

latency-guy2 wrote: post #237
kennysoona wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> some are even worse than US treatment they're getting. Show one comparable story from an EU country.

I'm curious if you think there is actually none before I go any further

All good, I think your answer here is enough.

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

#239

Post by layman51 »

tim333 wrote: post #223
AlotOfReading wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US doesn't just let people wander in. The US-Mexico border is incredibly militarized, with multiple lines of checkpoints on either side and a massive amount of technology and manpower to support patrolling the desert between ports. It's closer to a conflict border than it is to a typical international border.

Well maybe not but I was watching in mild amazement a bunch of Chinese cross the border in a 60 minutes segment. It's more hurry over through a gap than wander. https://youtu.be/M7TNP2OTY2g?t=38 I was thinking the odd nature of US immigration is probably down to it being more legalistic than other countries - more lawyers and courts. That could account for both the hard time with legal visitors and also the Mexican b…

I think you have a point about the legalistic nature. In the video you shared, they had a detail about how it is much harder than in the past for Chinese people to get into the US via a port of entry because visas are scarce. So crossing at a fence gap, or with a ladder or tunnel is their “hack” to actually get into the country. I’m not knowledgeable about the details of the policy in the mentioned in the video that doesn’t allow the border agents to prevent someone from crossing.

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

#240

Post by necovek »

oliwarner wrote: post #217
necovek wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is only one way to enforce the law, which is to enforce it upon learning of all the circumstances, both in favour and not in favour of the accused. The fact that you are not familiar with the law never protects you by design ("oh sorry, I never realised I wasn't allowed to just take their bike and ride away") — so it's upon the courts to make judgement on the entire set of circumstances. The problem with any im…

> There is only one way to enforce the law Treating every possible infraction like a hard felony is both costly to the taxpayer and chilling to tourists. The approach of ICE appears to be: Nobody has rights, no search is unreasonable, harvest all the data, then lock everyone up and put them at the back of a hearing queue. Post-9/11 America is a horrible border experience for legitimate tourists. It is repeatedly note…

Who said anything about taking the hardest line?

You could treat everyone amicably until proven otherwise.

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