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I'm the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks

theguardian.com

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Re: I'm the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks

#491

Post by dowager_dan99 »

ssijak wrote: post #69
blindriver wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every country is like this. Israel is the scariest but I remember decades ago crossing into Switzerland by train and in the middle of the night being woken up by border guards with barking German shepherds asking for my passport. I have so many stories it’s funny. On top of the other stories I’ve already posted, my friend who is Canadian drove into Buffalo for dinner and on his way back, they asked him where are you…

"Switzerland by train and in the middle of the night being woken up by border guards with barking German shepherds asking for my passport" What is exactly wrong here? They checked your passport and went on their way, that is how it works.

Why do you need guard dogs to check a passport? Is it the most effective system to do sweep-checks in the middle of the night? Why not check as you're boarding or de-training? What happens if something is wrong or not aligned? Is a stressful situation the best way to conduct routine processes for anybody?

HOW shit goes down is really important. When systems reduce people to cogs in a machine they lose empathy and personal responsibility. This is why we end up with guards who know nothing, treat people like cattle, and are "just doing their job". It does not lead to good results.

Re: I'm the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks

#492

Post by wk_end »

blindriver wrote: post #449
wk_end wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, she wasn't illegally entering the United States, so that's sort of moot.

She was. You didn't even do a modicum of research. She co-founded a hemp drink company in California and then self-assigned her own TN visa through the company she founded, which isn't allowed. Her visa was actually illegal and then she was found upon subsequent crossing. She tried to reapply and this time she was detained.

Sorry, I’m commenting on an article and don’t feel as though I should need more research than what’s written in it. Based on her account, that’s not really accurate, and I do actually trust her (and Guardian fact-checkers) more than your anonymous claims. Feel free to give sources.

Anyway: it’s still moot. What she did, even based on your account, is not illegal.

It’s not illegal to apply for TN, period. If the application is rejected, that doesn’t make the application retroactively illegal.

It’s not even illegal for a Canadian to apply for a TN at the border crossing, have their application rejected, and keep driving right into the US. I know this because it happened to me. As Canadians don’t need work permits to enter the US, entering the country wasn’t the question - only working in it.

Unless she’d previously been given paperwork that had banned her from entry to the US - and she hadn’t been - there was nothing illegal with reapplying. She was told to reapply.

Whether she did anything “wrong” is debatable, but whether she did anything illegal isn’t.

Re: I'm the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks

#493

Post by refurb »

Apparently she broke several rules and it’s bordering on fraud.

- She worked in LA on a TN that was revoked

- She applied for a TN visa at the Canadian border and was denied

- She then flew to Mexico to try again at the San Diego border (USCBP can see this and explicitly say not to “crossing shop”)

- Her new TN was sponsored by a company she owns for another drinks company she also owns (you can’t self-sponsor a TN visa)

- The company she was consulting for was making THC drinks which are still illegal under USA federal law

My guess is she was questioned and determined to be committing immigration fraud and was detained until she could be deported

Re: I'm the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks

#494

Post by morkalork »

kragen wrote: post #487
metabagel wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shouldn't be a partisan issue.

While I agree with you, it is observably true that many people take different positions on the issue and then demonize those who disagree with them, converting it into a partisan issue. Another commenter (now deleted) made the claim that, saying an issue shouldn't be partisan is “ just saying ‘everyone should believe what I do’ but in the lexicon of people who look down their nose at the general public. ” They added,…

And here in lies the problem: wedge issues. Taking something, blowing it out of proportion and turning into a partisan issue on purpose. Abortion, LGBTQ rights, immigration. It becomes impossible to have nuanced, rational discussion about those topics, and its on purpose. One side thrives off of making them emotional, hot-button issues. Shunning discussion of it here or elsewhere because it's an emotional, hot-button topic, is just conceding to the side making it like that.

Re: I'm the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks

#495

Post by oa335 »

tac19 wrote: post #456
yks wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a blink of an eye Americans went from "the government is out there to oppress you" to "if the government says the undisclosed people it snatches from the streets and deports are criminals, it must be true".

[flagged]

> There is a sense that the new American administration is more appropriately focused on oppressing criminals and people occupying the country illegally, which may account for more acceptance and a slight uptick in trust

That’s not an interesting insight IMO.

All governments claim some degree of criminality or immorality of the people they are oppressing.

After all, didn’t this administration pardon people who 50% of the country believe were actively trying to overthrow the government?

Re: I'm the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks

#496

Post by dowager_dan99 »

gs17 wrote: post #365
BrandoElFollito wrote: post #12

I traveled to the US (from my country -France- and many others) for 12 years. About a trip every month. The last time was 10 years ago. I never had any problems (outside the horrible behaviour of border officers who show you that you are not welcome). I was stopped once by a policeman when I did an illegal car maneuver (which is tolerated in France), and when he realized I was a tourist with family, he just said, "Be…

> outside the horrible behaviour of border officers who show you that you are not welcome They've always (in my life, which is largely post 9/11) done that to US citizens too. Going into Canada it was "where are you going to? the beach, eh? have a nice day!", coming back seemed to be performed under the suspicion that our passports were fake and our car was made out of drugs. Despite doing nothing wrong, we were alwa…

As a Canadian travelling throughout much of the world, border controls aside from the US always seem much more concerned with imported goods (tax collection and protecting agriculture, etc) than imported people.

Re: I'm the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks

#498

Post by blindriver »

dowager_dan99 wrote: post #478
blindriver wrote: post #449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She was. You didn't even do a modicum of research. She co-founded a hemp drink company in California and then self-assigned her own TN visa through the company she founded, which isn't allowed. Her visa was actually illegal and then she was found upon subsequent crossing. She tried to reapply and this time she was detained.

I need to determine if this is true. I had not heard of it before, and the idea she would qualify for a TN visa seemed a little thin, but the rules are so arbitrary and uneven (especially these days) who knows. Regardless this sounds like a nightmare, and to top it off is neither "DOGE-efficient" or increases US security. It's a least 4-combinations of lose-lose.

See my other reply, with receipts:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43413758

Re: I'm the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks

#499

Post by leereeves »

kragen wrote: post #487
metabagel wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shouldn't be a partisan issue.

While I agree with you, it is observably true that many people take different positions on the issue and then demonize those who disagree with them, converting it into a partisan issue. Another commenter (now deleted) made the claim that, saying an issue shouldn't be partisan is “ just saying ‘everyone should believe what I do’ but in the lexicon of people who look down their nose at the general public. ” They added,…

Unfortunately, it also seems to be true that the guidelines aren't enforced on discussions about the Trump administration. We used to have informative, curious discussions about politics here, but it seems like Hacker News is no longer capable of that, so I think these flamewars are best left to one of the many willing political battlegrounds like reddit or X.

Re: I'm the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks

#500

Post by poulsbohemian »

throwawaymaths wrote: post #484
snapcaster wrote: post #3

This is horrible and scary, why border guards are even giving the authority to revoke visas is beyond me. When people think about giving cops/guards authority like this they need to be picturing the dumbest bully from their grade school. That's who is going to be using the power

I'm about to travel to canada on work and as i understand it the last step in the visa is an interview at the port of entry where the border guard can decide if I get to stay or not.

When I went through it years ago, it was mostly about making sure you had all your paperwork in order - had the company sponsoring you provided the relevant information regarding the role and why you were needed, did your resume and experience match at all with the work being performed, etc. Basically I showed up with a list of documents and a very nice border guard looked it over and said welcome to Canada. Each time I traveled up there for work, the border guards were polite and professional. Each time I traveled home, I got pulled aside for advanced screening like I was a drug mule. Just loved all the America trivia questions and deep dives into the history of where I live, just so they could feel good about their jobs.
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