Canadians traveling to Women's March denied US entry after sharing plans

[mfcorey1]

Would-be protesters heading to the Women’s March on Washington have said they were denied entry to the United States after telling border agents at a land crossing in Quebec their plans to attend the march.

Montrealer Sasha Dyck was part of a group of eight who had arranged online to travel together to Washington. Divided into two cars, the group – six Canadians and two French nationals – arrived at the border crossing that connects St Bernard de Lacolle in Quebec with Champlain, New York, on Thursday.

The group was upfront about their plans with border agents, Dyck said. “We said we were going to the women’s march on Saturday and they said, ‘Well, you’re going to have to pull over’.”

What followed was a two-hour ordeal. Their cars were searched and their mobile phones examined. Each member of the group was fingerprinted and had their photo taken.

Border agents first told the two French citizens that they had been denied entry to the US and informed them that any future visit to the US would now require a visa.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/20/womens-march-canada-protesters-denied-entry-us

[DK504]

1. What exactly was the reason for the denial?

Unless they are on the watch list, they should have been able to enter, especially 'cause they are Canadians. Like they are going to start a riot.

And so it begins - build that wall on the northern border tDump, those Canadians are sneaky.

[George II]

4. I doubt the Canadians were denied entrance, it could be that they had to turn around...

....because they owned the car(s) involved and didn't want to strand their friends?

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. As the article at the link states, they were denied entrance...

Border agents first told the two French citizens that they had been denied entry to the US and informed them that any future visit to the US would now require a visa.

“Then for the rest of us, they said, ‘You’re headed home today’,” Dyck said. The group was also warned that if they tried to cross the border again during the weekend, they would be arrested. “And that was it, they didn’t give a lot of justification.”

[George II]

2. It was an isolated incident, and from my experience crossing the border for 60+ years....

...it happens, and not for any specific reason. I've been stopped and my possessions searched entering Canada and leaving Canada.

Reading the article, the cars (the article I read yesterday said they were in one car) contained not just Canadians but French and British citizens. They probably didn't qualify for visa-free entry from Canada, much less from the UK and France. Canada does not require visas for most French and British citizens, but the US does if they're entering the United States from Canada.

It's been this way for years, I don't see anything ominous about this incident.

[NCjack]

3. I know Canadians with a British friend were turned around trying to cross into USA.