5th Canadian denied entry to U.S. after facing questions about Moroccan roots

[inanna]

Source: CBC

Posted: Feb 10, 2017 2:12 PM ET

Another Canadian with Moroccan roots has been refused entry at Quebec's border with the United States after being questioned for five hours and having his phone searched.

Yassine Aber, a 19-year-old kinesiology student at the University of Sherbrooke, was denied entry Thursday while trying to cross the border at Stanstead, Que.

Aber was travelling to an athletic competition in Boston with other members of the university's track-and-field team. He was born in Canada to parents who were originally from Morocco and was travelling on a valid Canadian passport.

Four other Canadian citizens of Moroccan heritage were denied entry at a different border crossing into Vermont on Saturday after facing questions about their Moroccan roots and their Muslim faith.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/another-canadian-citizen-refused-entry-united-states-border-1.3976230?cmp=rss

[Freethinker65]

1. This is insane

[billpolonsky]

2. Personally avoiding the USA for the duration

Sorry America:

Will visit when your country wakes up from this nightmare.

Best of luck

[inanna]

4. Me too!

[Skittles]

16. a heart for you my sweet

I hear you

[teezy]

26. Me too.

My Facebook alone would get me turned away LOL. I'm not shy about my feelings about this asshole.

And it sucks, because I had big plans to see places all over the US. But I will not subject myself to this. I'm not handing over my phone and passwords so they can invade my damn privacy.

[fountainofyouth]

3. THE REAL THREAT TO AMERICA

IS THE TRACK-AND-FIELD ATHLETES!!!!

[bettyellen]

5. Are they stopping young white men to see if they like LePen and Trump?

[sarcasmo]

6. Dolt45 is a mess.

[HassleCat]

7. When did Morocco make the list?

Not to mention Canada. It seems we have the official list, and the real list. The real list is "all Muslims." Nice. Very nice. We are the wellspring of freedom and justice in the world.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. I'm waiting for Canada to do the same to US citizens trying to

visit grandma or see the Canadian Rockies.

[onetexan]

9. so there's been a STAY order from the 3 federal judges

won't these CBP folks be held in contempt for failure to obey the order? Has there been other cases since the order was issued yesterday?

[Yo_Mama]

31. This has nothing to do with the stay of the EO - it's SOP that applies to all countries.

Even if you have a valid entry visa, it's perfectly possible for the officials to stop you on entry if a red flag shows up.

I think this kind of screening has been in place for a while - it is just being reported now due to immigration stuff being such a hot topic.

One of the concerns over the Canadian border is that persons on the No-Fly list may fly into Canada, and from there may come into the US.

[Rural_Progressive]

10. This might get nasty for those of us who travel to Canada on a regular basis

I work with a biodynamic farming group in the Okanagon on a regular basis. Can't say I'd blame Canadian Customs if they start giving US citizens grief when they try to make the passing.

The Orange Gibbon is sure making rapid changes, a number of his supporters from my area also do a lot of business north of the border. It will be interesting to see how they feel in the next few months of getting across the border becomes a challenge for them.

[matt819]

11. Tit for tat

Time for Canadians to lodge formal protest.

And, and this is crucial, to do the same to Americans of non-American ethnicity. Tit for tat. Let's see how that works when Americans are the victims.

[kiranerys]

23. Republicans won't care unless it's white people you're turning away

n/t

[treestar]

12. So he is a big danger and likely to

make a terrorist attack? How stupidly the government is acting. Well, having a stupid President, it is to be expected.

[DeminPennswoods]

13. Just gives more fodder for the TRO case

Trump's minions are really stupid doing this. They are all out yammering how it's not a Muslim ban, but so far, their actions like this speak louder than their words. Neither Canada nor Morocco are on the "banned country" list. What is the court to think except it's a ban based on religion?

[riverbendviewgal]

14. I am white

Blue eyed and of European descent. I was born in the USA but became a Canadian. I relinquished my US citizenship over 20 years ago. I have visited relatives and been on winter visits. No more. My US family are Trump lovers. We are no longer communicating. As long as Republicans are in control I will not return to the USA.

I am so disgusted with what has happened to the great country of the USA. No longer great.

[BeekeeperInVermont]

15. You forgot something.

I am so disgusted with what has happened to the great country of the USA. No longer great.

You're supposed to add "Sad" at the end.

I am so disgusted with what has happened to the great country of the USA. No longer great. Sad!

There. Fixed it for you.

[Skittles]

17. you are really a beekeeper?

so cool! A heart for you

[BeekeeperInVermont]

25. Yup.

Not much going on now when it's cold, but in a month or so we'll get a warm-ish day (in other words, over 40 degrees - it's Vermont, after all) and the girls will be out to stretch their legs and their wings for a bit. Then we'll have to be on the lookout for the local bear.

[Skittles]

27. when it gets going, post an "I'M A BEE KEEPER; ASK ME ANYTHING" thread

with pictures!

I think they are FASCINATING

[riverbendviewgal]

18. I was thinking of doing that but

I couldn't bring myself to imitate him. I have always detested him. Even when he was a young man he did not appeal to me at all. I am a couple years younger than him. I was born in NJ and loved NYC. Trump is an abomination. His looks and his wealth never attracted me. A man has to have intelligence, empathy, a sense of humor and honesty. He has none of those traits. He is a sad sack.

[GallopingGhost]

30. I feel exactly the same

Disgusting and ignorant on so many levels.

This whole situation is a surreal WTF.

[WestCoastDem42]

19. Hmmmmm......

I wonder if there is any way to track the names of the CBP agents that are doing the interviews and issuing these denials.

I strongly suspect that there is a small cadre of agents that are taking advantage of their position of authority. Similarly with policing, the vast majority of police are in the force to try and do the right thing: serve and protect.

In both CBP and police forces throughout the country there are a small minority of bullies that will take advantage of their position of authority.

I am just cynical enough to suspect that you would not have to dig very deep to find that these rejections are limited to just a few agents.

[LiberalLovinLug]

20. That could be

I just listened to a report on CBC that said inbetween borders it is an area where each countries rights do not totally apply, its a grey area so to speak. And that it is up to each border guard individually to assess and decide how far to take it with each case.

[dhol82]

21. Don't think this was CBP

I think it was trump loving US border agents.
Shit gibbons that they are.

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

22. The article says he was denied entry on Saturday (since it's Friday now, must be last weekend)

Was the restraining order in place at the time? If so, any agent violating that order needs to be held in contempt and arrested and charged to the fullest extent of the law.

[metalbot]

24. This isn't technically related to the executive order

In the sense that as a Canadian, he does not need a visa in order to enter the US. However, if you are a citizen of a country that is part of the visa waiver program, immigration can still deny you at the border for a variety of reasons (including "seemed evasive when I asked questions&quot . Immigration officer was almost certainly acting within the law, but only because we give them enormous powers to do so.

[csziggy]

28. Canadian citizens with no link to any "Islamic" countries were denied entry into the USA

When they mentioned they were headed to the Women's March.

U.S. border agents turned away Canadians hoping to come to the Women’s March
By Amanda Erickson January 21

The plan was simple. Montrealer Sasha Dyck and some friends would drive to Washington to join the Women's March. But when the six Canadians and two French nationals reached the border at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, in Quebec, they ran into trouble.

U.S. border agents asked what they planned to do in the United States. “We said we were going to the Women’s March on Saturday and they said, ‘Well, you’re going to have to pull over,’ ” Dyck told the Guardian. Agents then searched their car and examined their cellphones, according to Dyck. Each member of the group was fingerprinted and had their pictures taken.

Finally, after two hours, the agents told Dyck and his friends to turn around. “They said, ‘You’re headed home today,’ ” Dyck told the Guardian. Officials warned that they’d be arrested if they tried to cross at a different spot this weekend, Dyck said. “And that was it, they didn’t give a lot of justification.”

The two French citizens were told that they’d now need a visa if they wanted to enter the United States. French and British citizens can enter the United States without a visa if they apply for clearance through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. But if your ESTA application is denied, or if you’re turned away at the border, you’re required to have a visa to enter the country in the future.

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/21/u-s-border-agents-turned-away-canadians-hoping-to-come-to-the-womens-march/

[AwakeAtLast]

29. Mudbloods, pure and simple

Boils my own blood, mainly because I thought Harry Potter was fiction.

This is depressing.....