Ask Lemmy

Wow thats really fucked up considering I could jump in my car and drive across the border into the US right now and the border guards most likely wouldnt look at me twice

We went across last year twice and they just wanted to know why and where were staying, didnt even ask for proof

So its highly dependant on your origin country (im Canadian) and skin colour (im pasty white)

2/10 if you're white. 5/10 if you're not.

Yeah, the problem is even if you don’t encounter problems at the border, there are still random blacked out SUVs driving around abducting, raping, and deporting people, facial recognition with errors that could flag you (publicly accessible too), and at least a 1/3 of everyone you see is a MAGAt who are notoriously violent. The most important problem is that by going, they accept and support these realities with their money.

Even Americans, who aren't Caucasian, are being put into ICE detention (or deported). The US is a dangerous place for anyone with darker skin. Even worse for visitors. Not even safe for Canadians.

Other people have amazing reasons not to come, so Im not going to add on to that regard. But if your coworker chooses to come, here are some points to take into account when traveling

• Don't make it look like you going to be staying for a while.
• Be the gray man: don't take it literally, but don't dress fancy or to rugged. Blend in. If someone takes a photo of you walking by someone else, you don't want them to say "yeah he went over there".
• be situationally aware: don't be the bumbling idiot with a phone in there hand and earbuds in when walking in public. Keep your head up, wear sunglasses so people can't see where your looking. Stay alert.
• avoid the bad areas: do extensive research on the area your going.
• Cash is king: harder to track and create a profile about your purchases with cash. Don't carry to much otherwise that is a good questioning point
• shit hits the fan: if you noticed your being followed, stay calm and keep moving, make it look like your stoping in a store and go out the back door. Keep a change of clothes, hat and sunglasses. I'm not an expert on evasion but there are plenty of guides out there
• don't bring your personal electronics, use 2nd hand burners for your travels, just use them a bit before coming as to not raise suspicion.

After reading all these comments, the impression I'm getting is: shithole country

Not dystopian at all. Go enjoy America... /s

I wouldn’t do it lol. I’m from the USA and I don’t even wanna leave because I don’t wanna deal with our fucking customs guys.

Show your friend this thread. This is a bad idea. There was an Irish woman held for months. No trip is worth what this could turn into.

Forgive me but I did an AI search and here is what it came up with.

🇩🇪 Germany Lucas Sielaff / Celov: A 25-year-old German citizen visiting his American fiancée was detained for 16 days at the Otay Mesa Detention Facility south of San Diego. He was taken into custody while returning from a day trip to Tijuana, Mexico, after border officials accused him of violating his 90-day tourist permit. https://www.10news.com/news/team-10/it-is-like-jail-german-man-visiting-american-fiance-detained-by-ice-for-over-2-weeks

Jessica Brösche / Brocha: An artist from Berlin was detained for over six weeks, spending more than a week in solitary confinement. Authorities took her into custody at the San Diego border after accusing her of intending to perform unauthorized work because she was traveling with tattooing equipment. https://www.the-berliner.com/politics/berlin-jessica-brosche-45-days-us-detention-border-ice-trump/

Fabian Schmidt: A German national holding a U.S. green card was arrested and interrogated at the Boston airport upon returning from a vacation. His detention drew widespread criticism from local lawmakers. https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2025-05-09/ice-releases-fabian-schmidt-n-h-green-card-holder-in-detention-for-2-months

🇬🇧 United Kingdom Becky Burke: A 28-year-old graphic artist from Wales was held in an ICE Processing Centre in Washington State for 19 days. The detention followed a visa mix-up when she was denied entry at the Canadian border while attempting to leave the U.S.. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqj4w91vz7jo

🇳🇴 Norway "Degman": A Norwegian woman married to a U.S. citizen was arrested by ICE during a scheduled hearing at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in San Diego. She was held at Otay Mesa for a week for overstaying a visa before a judge terminated her case. https://www.borderreport.com/border-report-tour/migrant-centers/norwegian-arrested-by-ice-during-interview-to-be-released-from-custody/

🇮🇪 Ireland Sheamus Culliton: An Irish citizen from Kilkenny who had lived in the U.S. for 17 years was detained in an ICE facility in Texas while awaiting his green card. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg17m7842eo

🇳🇱 Netherlands Owen Ramsingh: A permanent resident who immigrated to the U.S. from the Netherlands in 1986 had his green card revoked and was placed in ICE custody for removal proceedings following a trip to Europe. https://www.npr.org/2026/05/05/nx-s1-5805229/detained-and-deported-a-missouri-man-must-make-a-new-life-in-the-netherlands

🇫🇷 France Marie-Thérèse Ross: An 85-year-old French widow was arrested by ICE agents at her home in Alabama after overstaying her 90-day tourist visa. Ross had moved to the United States to marry a former U.S. serviceman she had first met in France in the 1950s. Following her husband's death, she was placed in a Louisiana immigration facility where she was reportedly handcuffed by her hands and feet. She spent 16 days in federal custody before being deported back to France. Unnamed French Academic: A French researcher traveling to a conference in Houston, Texas, was denied entry and detained at the airport. U.S. border officials targeted the researcher after scanning their personal electronic devices and finding messages critical of U.S. academic research policies. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/13/marie-therese-ross-85-year-old-ice-detainee

🇬🇧 United Kingdom Karen Newton: A 65-year-old retired British tourist was detained for six weeks (43 days) at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. Despite traveling with a valid tourist visa, she and her husband were swept up at the Sweetgrass border crossing in Montana while attempting to return to Canada. Because her detention coincided with a U.S. federal government shutdown, her release was significantly delayed. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/karen-newton-valid-visa-detained-ice

🇧🇬 Bulgaria Dmitrii Georgiev: A Bulgarian citizen vacationing in Quebec, Canada, was detained by ICE for nearly three months. Georgiev inadvertently crossed the unmarked U.S.-Canada border line in a rural area, resulting in his immediate arrest and long-term placement in an immigration holding facility. https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2026-01-28/a-bulgarian-in-canada-got-too-close-to-the-vermont-border-ice-detained-him-for-nearly-3-months

Your friend is playing with fire and could a get turned away at the airport or put in detention.

don't, just don't.

if you have to, refuse.

stay out of the US right now. not because it's particularly unsafe to be inside the country, but because it's incredibly difficult to safely get inside.

not only that, but going to Florida is like starting foreplay with licking a dirty asshole. some might be into that, but everyone will end up with shit mouth by the end of the night.

That list is an automatic no from me. America is FAR down on the list of countries I would like to see one day, but as long as those requirements exist, absolutely not.

The US literally has nothing that would be worth this

I definitely won't be going to America as long as they don't get rid of this censorship. Although I avoid having petty internet fights, some of my social media comments on Instagram are snarky anti-fascist and anti-corporate.

Don't go. At all, for any reason. If what has already transpired during Trump's second term hasn't been enough reason to avoid travel, its on him if anything bad happens.

Can't say you weren't warned.

Forget it. Even before this shit happened, a middle eastern looking friend of mine had to stop going to US conferences because he would always get turned away at the border.