UKC

I’ve only visited the USA once, about 20 years ago, but vowed never to do so again because I didn’t like being treated liked a criminal when passing through immigration. 
Today I read in a major Guardian article the following:

Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian entrepreneur and actor in the American Pie movie franchise, was detained for almost two weeks in “inhumane” conditions by US border authorities over an incomplete visa. She wrote in the Guardian: “I was taken to a tiny, freezing cement cell with bright fluorescent lights and a toilet. There were five other women lying on their mats with the aluminium sheets wrapped over them, looking like dead bodies“

It's perfectly safe if you are white, just don't forget to heil the immigration officer upon arrival...

And if you have never said anything negative about Trump on social media.

Denmark, France and Germany have all updated their travel to the US guidance after their citizens had border force problems despite having valid documents and visas.

The UK also updated ours yesterday, although it seems to have passed somewhat under the radar.

My Mum goes every year to visit my brother and has never been probed with a latex glove. She regularly takes chocolate bars over as humanitarian aid.

Last time she went there was still a democracy in place though.

I think falling foul of immigration rules has always been pretty brutal there. What seems to have changed is that rules are now applied arbitrarily. Burner phone??

If I’ve read the article correctly, a Canadian went to Mexico to enter the country (under the explanation she wanted her lawyer to accompany her into the country).

This seems unusual.

Try this one.... do you believe homeland security?. Their excuse seems plain weird, for something immigration staff to have spotted, and if he was trying to 'spy' it would have been easy to hide the information. An immigration flag, based on social media attacks on Trump, in contrast, would be very easy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/world/europe/us-france-scientist-entry-t...

Governments don't update travel guidance on a tiny number of immigration misunderstandings.

It's no picnic in Britain either, lots of similar stories of legit travellers getting picked up for allegedly incorrect visas and held for days in crap conditions.

Jk

We were talking about this ref potential family holidays when Trump got in, rather than the risk of immigration issues, our conclusion was we wouldn’t want to spend our money/give validation to a country where the majority of people who voted decided this was the best option 

They will try to catch traveller's out say "buena suerte" as you board buses, planes etc.. don't react otherwise you'll be on a truck to Mexico. 

My friends wife was born in Mexico and they do this very time she goes to the USA, despite her UK passport

I get the logic, but his majority (of the people who voted) was tiny, and a lot of people didn't vote, so lots more Americans didn't vote for him than did, not that that really matters. It's weird, I know my American friends loath him, and there are 100 million or so other Americans who feel that way also. But I'm not sure I'd travel there currently either. That said, I'm off to China soon so we all make our lines in the sand somewhere, then perhaps step over them anyway.

I can imagine China sending you back at your (large) expense for saying the wrong thing. I can't see them locking you up for weeks incommunicado.

Maybe not visitors, although I don't know, but there have been case of residents getting locked up because of something that happened in their home country that had absolutely nothing to do with them. 

I'm not defending the US at all. I read the full article in the Guardian earlier this week and it was pretty shocking. I was also impressed by the way the young woman wrote it - fully aware of her own privilege and empathetic to the women (mainly poor and from the global south who had been lost in the same system for months not days), and expressing how she found seemingly nothing but solidarity and support from the other detainees. But I also know that we all put our head in the sands to some degree over how our own countries treat irregular migrants and non-citizens who have somehow found themselves on the wrong side of some ruling. I used to volunteer in Helsinki with the Finnish Red Cross to visit detained people in the 'Alien Detention Centre' (much more depressing and less Men in Black-connected than its name suggests). After a year or so doing that, I also was asked to visit foreigners detained in the Central Helsinki Police Jail - predominantly just when they had no more space in the Alien Detention Centre - and that was even more depressing. Some people I had no real problem with them being detained - served prison sentences for example, and were just waiting to be official expelled to their home countries - but lots were people that we could never really see what justification there was for detaining them. A mother with a young child in one instance. People who had been students and there was some discussion over their visa status etc. Maybe they did need to leave the country, but in many cases it wasn't clear that there was any need at all for them to be locked up (particularly locked up in jail in almost solitary confinement conditions). We saw people mentally falling apart in those conditions, and there were very few reports of violence from others which seem quite regular in the much bigger UK detention centres. 

Back to the US, I saw both Finland and Denmark have recommended that any trans citizens (you can have your gender recorded as X on your passport in both countries rather than male or female) don't travel to the US without first seeking approval for their documents from US embassies before travel. 

If you have tattoos, be very careful.

That’s going to work so well as about 50 million Americans speak Spanish as a first language.

Not widely reported by the US has never had an official language until Trump designated “English” as their official language a couple of weeks ago by executive order.

I wonder how those 50 million feel now?

Surprised he didn’t relabel the language as “American” whilst he was at it.

I will not visit whilst he's in power!

It wasn't really intended as a serious comment, it's from the movie The Great Escape.

youtube.com/watch?v=TNJ-1gz12JI&

Ah, but the fact it was taken serious, shows the kind of times we are now living in.

Of course, musk's salute and wanting to fund the german far right, it's not coincidence. 

It's a good question. I'm planning to visit the US again soon, as a Permanent Resident, but I'm a little nervous having been critical of the Trump administration. The problem is that the country has changed so much (in terms of the law and constitutional rights) that I am no longer sure where I stand.

That would depend if the NSA would do trumps bidding, adding names of literally anyone anti trump to watch lists. It'll be a very big list with a lot of USA citizens on it, never mind Canadians, Danes, Greenlanders etc..

I do really think the IOC need to urgently discuss making alternative arrangements for the 2028 Olympics which are destined for Los Angeles.

I can see an awful lot of athletes being turned back or even arrested, just because of the nation they are representing, let alone their own views.

I also envisage the orange fart trying to outdo the ruler of the Berlin Games in "lording it" over the proceedings, and lord help anyone from the USA who replicates the protests of the 1968 Games.

Does it being a long list matter?

I won't be visiting unless I *really* need to, and have family by marriage there. The chance of a problem is small but it's not a risk I need or want to take. I also won't be visiting e.g. Saudi Arabia for similar reasons,. although that was always the case.

Thought the censorship had already started. But I had posted on a different thread...

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/politics/the_smoking_gun-779625?v=1#x1002...

In some jobs which have lots of travel people often have multiple passports, when applying for visas etc but also because you might not wish to show one country you been visiting an enemy of theirs, Israel and some ME countries being the classic example. Maybe this will become a thing in or with the USA, been to the USA then forget that Copenhagen weekend break! 

Interesting to compare with Saudi Arabia. I recently went there for the first time, having stubbornly resisted for many years. A case of there being no-one else who could go. It's improved massively from what I'd been expecting, at least on the surface. Women driving and walking around without even a head covering, it's almost like a civilised country now. It's definitely heading in the right direction. Unlike the USA, which I've visited many times but I'd be reluctant to go to at the moment, because it's going rapidly downhill in a scary fashion. I honestly think I'd feel safer going back to Saudi.

The IOC?! That pure, humble, uncorrupted bastion of democratic excellence? You'll be suggesting that FIFA pulls the World Cup next, Fred.

In relative terms it’s never been that safe compared to the USA - higher gun crime, more trigger happy police, more dangerous roads, more chance of being eaten by a bear, more chance of being mauled by a mountain lion, more chance of earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes.

Those relative reasons never put me off - indeed some drew me there - but now it’s looking dodgy in absolute terms.  For many reasons.

You might, but I bet an Asian female migrant worker doesn't feel the same as you. 

I've been to Saudi twice (Duba) and, other than the potential for accidentally doing a Grooverider, I've never felt at risk, neither of being detained nor of being a victim of crime while there. Granted, I'm not a female Asian migrant worker. I'd happily visit Saudi again.

I won't be going anywhere near the US until both the current turd has been flushed and the country elects some actually sensible adults post-flushing.

I think many are oblivious to the risks, or know the good and bad areas in some middle east countries. As westerners we love a walk around the markets looking at the fakes, copies, gold etc look up, see what flags they fly on their roof tops, even pre 9/11 many were just called black flag areas, as we didn't know what the white Arabic writing meant or said. 

Last time I went I was so tired from the flight I couldn't remember what country id arrived from and the immigration guy got so annoyed at me 😂😂

Thankfully I dodged the latex gloves and then couldn't remember which finger was which for the fingerprints.

To be fair I did fly into Salt Lake City so absolutely nothing happens there except climbing and fentanyl it would appear.

A rough guess:

"There is no God but God and Muhammad is his messenger "

Of course not, but genuine question - Is an Asian female migrant worker actually safer in the USA than in Saudi Arabia? I'm not so sure. The homicide rate in the USA is off the scale compared to most other countries in the world, with women of colour particularly at risk. A woman in Saudi with a reputable employer is probably safer.

I personally wouldn't at the moment. Went to Florida a couple of years ago and that was fine.

My Neice is currently working out there on a 2-year placement with NASA - hopefully she'll be ok. She's marrying an American next month and my M-in-L is going out for a few days for the ceremony. I'd be more worried if she was going on her own, but she's in a group. I sorted out the ESTA for her and that's fine. She has no social media presence!

I still can't get over the fact that in a country with a population of around 350 million, Trump and Biden were the only candidates they could come up with!

I hadn’t actually put 2 and 2 together, but in 2028 not only do they have the Olympics, but they have the ‘soccer’ World Cup, hosting alongside their friends Mexico and Canada.

The World Cup is next year, 2026.

Well, World Cup and Olympic years are separated by 2. And each occurs at 2 plus 2 year intervals...

I have already suggested that on another thread some time earlier.

The point is, nations are not going to be very happy if their sportsmen are prevented from competing - in whatever sport - due to being sent home or even arrested because the orange fart is the biggest cry baby girly ever known. Nations like to see their flags waved, and if sports persons are prevented from winning, then that's where the backlash will get some teeth.

I doubt an Asian migrant worker, whether male or female, would feel that safe in the USA right now.

Here's my prediction, Fred: neither the IOC, nor FIFA, will do a single thing.

And I doubt anyone will do anything much if certain athletes can't compete. Gold medal winners carted off in chains would maybe cause a stir for a couple of days...

My worry is that neither will do anything - until it's too late, and one (or both) of these sporting competitions have their results badly affected by the orange fart or more likely his MAGA lunatic followers.

All it needs is one nutter attacking a team bus for the football, or even supporters being targeted. There have been incident in the past (in certain countries) of team hotels being surrounded by noisy "supporters" of opponents who spent the night making so much noise that players couldn't sleep properly. I haven't looked at the possibilities, but what is the likelihood of Mexico or Canada playing in the US in the later stages, or the US playing in Mexico or Canada. For that matter some runners or cyclists out for a training run getting beaten up or arrested by (self-styled ?) immigration "officers".

If that happened then I sincerely hope any and every American competing abroad thereafter ended up getting treated in precisely the same manner. 

(They could always be accused of spying or drug running).

Let's see...

Iran back a decade or so when it was a bit friendlier and not murdering protesting women that much, mostly we just asked the locals about places to avoid. No major problems there at all (though I used an EU passport for it, that might have helped). The only major problem was the gov shills trying to sell us illegal alcohol, but like all snitches, they were pretty easy to spot (and we got to a few rave & alcohol parties as well, even so).

Egypt, that's actually a bit skewed by the fact that there was an actual (and successful) revolution in full strength at the time I was there, the famous Tahrir Square protests in 2011. Even so, all the locals very pretty helpful in guiding us foreigners through to avoid any of the more problematic areas, including one very heroic taxi driver and one young English‑speaking student who with some real ingenuity was able to identify whatever group was manning the next roadblock from afar and riding on top of the taxi, started shouting either pro‑regime or anti‑regime slogans at them respectively, to get us through successfully and with ease.

Generally, I guess I'd still feel a tiny bit safer in there, perhaps even back then during the 2011 Arab Spring, than I'd feel in the US now. And not just because of my "unusual" travel history, which all the ICE officers can readily find in all the shared databases (making me 100% ineligible for the ESTA as well, which I now count as a bonus, really!), but because even in Iran back then or even in Egypt during their revolution, there was still some sense of law and order.

The Iranian police were pretty normal, back then, and even during the Egyptian Arab Spring, the army stayed largely aside out of it (and basically winning it, with the military dictatorship emerging later). All in all, the sides were still predictable, as our taxi‑journey through several different impromptu checkpoints shows. You knew that the secret police would likely detain you and torture you, but you also knew that the army would likely only detain you and then let you go, and the protesters would likely help you.

All in all, I now have zero idea what happens in the US day to day, with the Pig‑in‑Chief in charge now. And what imaginary powers some random, totally overweight sheriff in some random tiny county I might be accidentally passing through thinks That Fecking Orange Guy's statements or half‑illegal "executive orders" give him, or when some fecking small county elected (!) DA tries to bring his weight on you just for being in the wrong place in the wrong time or saying the wrong thing.

There used to be a Michelin‑style guidebook for "Negroes" travelling the US by car, the Green Book (to help them avoid all the segregated and very dangerous White Sundown Towns). I guess a new edition of that might be helpful soon, for all of us...

I think brutal dictatorships can be safer, none of the population will step out of line. The places which have some quite unfriendly anti western groups among them i was thinking of were kuwait, bahrain, saudi, Qatar etc.. if you're in the wealthy areas, nice restaurants, shopping malls then of course it's fine. 

Oh, definitely.

My point was more about that almost universally during the initial Arab Spring, none of that really happened initially (and neither in Iran later on, at least well before the Zan, Zendegi, Azadi protests). It sure happened later, though!

It was only quite later that any Westerners became the targets – initially by the governments from being suspected to be Western journalists promoting anti‑government views (like in Egypt 2011, where Mubarak specifically targeted Western journalists around Tahrir), to becoming outright hostage cash‑cows either by the government itself or the independent armed groups. Even in Syria or Libya, at the very first, Western journalists were still pretty welcomed. It was only after the societal order broke down completely that they turned from honoured guests to source of money for the various groups.

And just to make it clear, neither the 2011 Egypt or the Iran I am talking about, were we ever in any of the wealthy areas, being (at least comparatively, to the likes of wealthy Dubai flyers!) piss‑poor European travellers dependent on cheap hostels in there, some of us still students. Heck, all I remember eating in Iran was the street food kebabs, because it was the cheapest way.

I went over there years ago for a wedding between an American woman and a Brit bloke. That seemed to set the immigration people off even more than usual  

It also mentions the corporate nature of the company’s running the ICE incarceration system, there is no incentive to release you, every day is a dollar.

serco without the civic responsibility (irony!) and on steroids!

Remember what happened the last time the Olympics were in LA.  Boycotts could be back.  

As punishment for being part of the "American Pie" franchise, I'd say she got off lightly.

Makes sense to me. Not sure about the ESTA though, been to Iran and Egypt (and on a technicality, Belarus) and had no subsequent problems getting several ESTAs. Sorry if that bursts your too-badass-for-ESTAs bubble, I'm with you in spirit. 

Y

It won’t happen and is the very least of any concerns anyone should have. The whole point of sports washing is that you treat the public face of the event in a respectful way so people are fooled into thinking that’s how everyone in the country is treated. Even Hitler knew better than to arrest Jesse Owens although, weirdly for someone so thin skinned and narcissistic, Trump seems less concerned about his perception abroad than Hitler was. 

ESTA still explicitly requires you to declare any past travel to those countries.

PAX records were extensively shared between the EU & US.

So either I don't declare it, and an ICE officer notes the discrepancy in their database (jail & deportation), or I do declare it, get an ESTA, ICE officer notes that I've been there, has a bad mood and… (jail & deportation, on their whim).

And they have easy access to all the databases. Look a bit different (climber? what's that? some vagabond or what?), the wrong colour or gender, or just some macho idiot in an uniform having a bad day, voila, background check, any poor excuses to be found are found, etc.

Times have changed since 2016.

I go in and out of the US for work purposes on average twice a year. Depending on exactly why I'm there, that's sometimes on a visa waiver (ESTA) and sometimes on a J-1 visa.

I'll be going again in June and I'm not particularly worried about it. I find immigration officials a bit dour and grumpy, but I've never been treated like a criminal and I've found certain other countries that I've visited to be much worse. I don't feel any more unsafe on a day to day basis in the US than I have done at any other time in the past either, and in some places I feel safer than I did 10 years ago (certain parts of Philadelphia, for example).

I do admit that I'm privileged in that I'm of an ethnicity and from a country that doesn't tend to get me targeted by immigration, and because on this occasion I'm using a J-1 visa, so the wonderful immigration department at the University of Chicago will check all my documentation for me thoroughly before I travel. If I were of an ethnicity or from a country that would make me more likely to be profiled, I would be a lot more wary.

I do take some precautions like clearing social media apps off my phone before I travel, but that's not something new, I've done that for the last 5 years or so. The only thing I will do differently this time is not travel in my favourite rainbow jumper!

Go to US embassy in London and get a visa.That is what you do.

That is the rules.

I have declarations for travel to some of those same countries on my ESTA and I've never had a problem - never even been asked about it at the border.

If you declare something they have a problem with, they won't grant you an ESTA. In that case, you will already know not to travel in advance. If you have been granted an ESTA, it will be discrepancies that will cause any problems at the border.

So, declare - that way you will know if your previous travel will be a problem before you go.

Yes, I have declared those countries, and yes, I have received an ESTA. Have done many times over many years. Nothing to see here. 

Y

I have always worked on the theory that travel and border checks are a lot slicker if look like an ordinary nondescript traveler.

Looking like a climber is a choice, why make that choice if it may make things more difficult than they need to be?

When I looked at this (4 years ago?) they wanted me to bring my phone, and passwords for any social media accounts I have. Absolutely zero chance of them letting me in after seeing my FB posting history with many, many criticisms of trump (and American policies in general!), so even back then I decided not to bother, both because they might not let me in, and because I'm not willing to subject myself to that level of interrogation into my life just to go climbing for a couple of weeks 🤣

That is your choice.

Yeah, US immigration can be a nightmare, especially if there's any visa issue.

I was on a work trip in the US at the start of March, in the very Red state of Texas (Dallas).

Apart from meeting one US MAGA colleague suffering from cognitive dissonance observable from Saturn without a scope, the experience, which included playing golf at two nice local courses (no brown skin to be seen), was very pleasant including a very slick border service getting me through in no time.

Not sure if being blond with blue eyes helped at all.

In visa or ESTA applications, they ask you to voluntarily list social media handles/user names, but not passwords. I've never listed any of my social media handles in my visa applications and I've never had anyone query that. 

I'm not naive enough to think that they couldn't find public profiles if they wanted to, but I don't have anything publicly accessible that is particularly incriminating unless someone is particularly interested in the state of my veg patch...

Technically, you can be asked to log in to your phone and let them look around at the border. In practice, this has never happened to me or to anyone I know, but I mitigate by removing social media apps and my personal email from my phone while I'm in transit.

Again, I've had more problems in this regard going into certain other countries.

In my experience those days are long gone. Just me.

Spot on.

Out of interest, which other countries?

Brazil, parts of Africa and Malaysia.

Brazil was specifically a problem when travelling for work under Bolsonaro. It's been fine other times.

Malaysia was a work trip where I was travelling on a visa that let my host institute pay me - I'm not sure how travelling on a different visa affected things, I've never been as a tourist.

Parts of Africa are lovely, other parts are quite militant. I do end up in some less-touristy parts of Africa because I work on malaria...

FWIW despite immigration snags getting into the US I've never been treated with anything less than courtesy.

Russia on the other hand...

And in the UK thank God for the robots.  In 45 years of travelling into the UK several times a year only once have immigration been pleasant.

A cheery hallo and welcome home would be nice once in a while.

I should add that with reference to the social media issue, which I think is where this question came from, I have not filled out a visa for any country in the last 5 years or so where I have not been asked for social media handles. The USA is certainly not alone in this, although it's less common in visa waiver scenarios.

The countries above are places where I've been requested to show them personal information on my phone or laptop in some capacity (social media accounts or emails) at the border, which as above I have never been asked to do on entry to the US.

Bear in mind one of Trump's first orders was increased vetting at immigration. Several countries have seen fit to issue warnings as a result about US immigration. The US of 3 months ago was different to the US today. Clearly 99.99% of the time there will continue to be no issue for "normal" people but what happens to the 0.01% is now different 

Yes, I realise that and I do have some precautions in place as per my posts above. However, the specific post I was responding to was about measures put in place 4-5 years ago, which I felt misrepresented the reality that I experienced repeatedly over that period.

I have been to the US once already this year, and my experience at that time was no different to what it was previously, although again I realise that this could change.

Fair enough. I have visited many times and never had a problem either. 

I think for those (British) who do have trouble it may often be because they try to bake light of questions or joke with immigration officials. This is something of a British way of coping with a stressful situation but not a US way, where in can be seen as trying to trivialise the process.

That's interesting, both while living abroad so coming back on regular visit over about 18 years, then in the decade since living back in the UK, I've consistently found UK immigration to be not just polite but generally rather friendly too.

Finnish border guards (the other country I lived in and still visit regularly) whilst always professional and (by Finnish standards at least) polite, have never been friendly regardless of whether you talk to them in Finnish or English. The most aggressive and officious border guards I've met were going into the US. But I've only visited three or four times I think so I might have just got unlucky there. 

Russia was fine the couple of times I've been there, although the military check on the road right after the customs/immigration post was an introduction (smiling, friendly and good natured albeit) to Russian shakedowns and petty corruption. The bus driver was ready with cans of coke for the squaddies, but laughed and rolled his eyes when the baby faced NCO walked off with his working pen as well. 

I do remember a late night land crossing into Nepal from India where they appeared to have employed a underworked stand-up comedian as the immigration officer. he had to, with much delight, make a joke about everybody on the bus's passport photos! Otherwise they mainly seemed to want to tell us how much better Nepal is compared to India (I thought in many respects they had a point!).

Well, plenty of accounts of travellers being held of even detained by ICE just on their whim. You might think you are fine, but it's still up to them to decide, and ICE employees aren't exactly known for their DEI credentials, after all...

Have the wrong skin colour, a tattoo too much, welcome to a prison in Venezuela's SuperMax prison without any legal recourse. Even if absolutely illegal. Nobody cares.

No thanks. Feck any doing that with a two yard stick.

Apologies, I should have been clearer, I was required to do this due to a trip I'd taken previously to Sudan, which apparently made me a potential problem. I only found out when another person who'd been on the same trip was stopped at the US border and put on a flight home, it was in no way optional to list my SM handles in that case.

No idea about the situation in other places, but I've never been asked for that kind of information elsewhere, and I'd be just as loathe to provide it

Over dozens of trips to Russia 1992-2014 or so I never had anything but professional, courteous (sometimes a little terse) treatment at borders including air and rail, primary and secondary airports, travelling vanlife or white-collar professional style. 

Had plenty of other "adventures" in Russia, but on a basic human level, the border was not problematic. That goes equally for the period when I was clueless and the period when I had some relevant linguistic and cultural skills. 

For the avoidance of doubt, I'm not some sort of uncritical Russophile, far from it. That's just the behaviour I observed. 

At Boston Immigration one day the official noted my Russia stamps, asked me politely about my travels and said that at his church they teach that the "Russians are the people of Damian" - that's far and away the most offensive thing (if I understand the meaning correctly) I've ever heard from any border official. I had enough wits about me to STFU and proceed with my New Hampshire ice climbing. 

Had a few obtuse probing questions from US border folks over the years, but nothing that took more than two minutes or raised blood pressure. 

Exciting getting out of Saudi via the Bahrain bridge crossing. Apparently you're supposed to leave via the airport at which you arrive, but my colleague was the skilled Arabist on that occasion and saved our, erm... bacon ? 

Y

Don't worry, if ICE are planning to arrest you I'm sure you'll find out from the group chat well in advance.

In reply to Frank R.:

Brilliant 

Weird. Presumably some Biblical reference (surely not just The Omen movies?!)? But it doesn't mean anything to me. How did you understand it?

'Of the Antichrist' seems like a reasonable interpretation. Whatever the details, it's about as far removed from the spirit and message of Christianity as you can get.

... as thesaurus says, antichrist more-or-less. 

Beyond that, I couldn't give you much. I mean, I've spent enough time and energy in Eurasia/Middle East to have a rough idea of major local religions, ethnicities, myths/legends and was brought up CofE, but have no interest or clue about US "Christian" sects. 

It wasn't ironic (I have been caught out by extremely dry humour from US officials, this wasn't another such occasion... ) There was no way I could read it as a positive comment, or see how to extend the conversation productively. 

Y

I have a friend who was arrested and detained when trying to re-enter the States from Canada. 

Her crime?  They read her diary, in which she referenced recreational drug use whilst in the United States. She got a week in detention in an orange jumpsuit, banned from the US for a decade. 

This was 20 years ago, so it's had the potential to be problematic for quite some time...

I think he meant that the Russians are of the Orthodox Chistian faith, one of their founding saints is st Damian..so not offensive, but just recognising that they are kind of the same faith.

Still a weird thing to say... And assumes some pretty obscure religious knowledge, or any interest in what 'his church' have to say about anything.

But that was in the US

Rule 1) Everything is a racial issue and absolutely everything can be seen as racial no matter how non racial it is.

Rule 2) Half of everything is a religious issue and nothing about religion is obscure no matter how obscure it is 

Rule 3) The first 2 rules don't exclude each other 

🤣

Like I said: weird...

Aren't most devout Christian (USA) Americans "as far removed from the spirit and message of Christianity as you can get" ?

It would seem so, yes.

Apparently the detention facilities are privately owned and run, so there is a financial incentive to detain people. 
 

And these so‑called "Christians" even shamelessly display the Mark of the Beast* right on their foreheads as foretold! /s

* MAGA hats

Thank you. I don't think he meant that, but your comment is valuable, and it's possible he did. 

I was aware of St Kirill & St Methodius. Over a few decades of some basic awareness of Russian/Ukrainian/regional history I've never come across St Damian, so I'll take time to look him up. 

Slow response as I've skied 100km in N/Sweden in the interim. 

Y

Had a slightly weird experience flying into Miami from Mexico. Probably the longest immigration queue I've ever been in.

Anyway, eventually got to the desk and got a couple of unexpected questions about where we lived in the UK. Turned out that the immigration officer's surname was the same as a village near to us and he'd apparently still got familial links to the area and knew it quite well! Quite refreshing from the usual grilling and he waved us through without any issues!

Bear in mind that with an ESTA you will not have a passport stamp, and I do not know if they'd provide one as it means admin leaving the US.

We were in the desert near the Mexican border ( you can walk over as it's just a dry river bed in places.) near Big Bend. They don't monitor the exact border as it's extremely inhospitable but they monitor car traffic.  We stopped at a checkpoint and the lack of a passport stamp made it very difficult, and we were closer than I liked last year to being detained.  This year, I wouldn't risk it.

I've always received a passport stamp when entering on an ESTA. Usually you get one on arrival, it's a blue oval with red text inside and it has the entry data, the last possible date you are allowed to exit, and the letters WT or WB depending if you are entering for business or as a tourist. Sometimes the exit date is voided when I've left, sometimes not - but I've never failed to receive a stamp on entry.

I agree with that.

FWIW, I flew to the US last month on an ESTA and precleared US immigration in Dublin and didn't get a stamp.  A quick Google suggests that with the online ESTA now being linked to your passport the stamp is becoming a thing of the past.

My experience is that Dublin pre-clearance is a bit hit-or-miss with regard to this. I can see two stamps in my passport from Dublin, dated 2022 and 2024, but I'm also missing two, both from 2023. 

I should edit my previous post to say that I've never failed to receive one when entering directly via a US entry point.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dhs-screen-social-media-visa-applicants-ant...

In reply to Frank R.:

If you wouldn't use the N word, please don't use the M word. It's highly offensive.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/05/i-was-a-british-tourist-try...

I once got stopped at a checkpoint (I think at Marathon) in TX near Big Bend, when travelling there with the family. We didn't take passports with us. (This was about  twenty years ago.) When the border patrol officer came back to my car he said: "You come and go a lot!". And I said "I swear to God that I have never been to Big Bend before". He said: "No, I mean you come and go from the US a lot" - and he had a big printout, about four feet long listing all the flights I had made in and out of the US in the previous ten years! Quite impressive, considering this checkpoint was way out in the sticks.

Why would anyone want to go go to the USA especially now,belligerent police,gun mayhem,racism etc

Exactly the same happens in "the great escape" when english escapees at side of train challenged in English with same result

Classic, but it was a bus actually. And what's his name is Scottish.

Gordon Burns?

I generally go from Heathrow to either Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore or JFK. Heathrow would still count as large for me - but it could also be down to where you land. Hard to know...

Gordon Jackson of Upstairs Downstairs and The Professionals.

Of course! Burns presented The Krypton Factor

At least I didn't guess Gordon BANKS

In this context “antisemitism” means anything short of a full-throated endorsement of Israel.  Ironic considering the number of actual antisemites in the new administration.

"Thankfully", ICE is fully on the job...

A new motto: "Stopping ideas since 1984!"

Yes, their current X post reads "People, Money, Products, Intellectual property" instead, but the gist of it is the same, even if the screenshot might have been doctored...

A daft one, I know, but the seemingly out of control "tipping" culture makes me really uncomfortable in the US.  That's before the current state of play.  Lucky for us we have the rest of Europe a train or car journey away.

Welcome to the late stage über‑capitalism, where people aren't paid a decent living wage working service jobs in the first place, letting other poor people sub their indecent wages with normalised "tips".

Everybody is happy, especially the billionaire...

If there is any possibility that you could be or become pregnant during your visit DO NOT GO TO THE USA. Complications that would normally be fairly routine instances of miscarriage/ectopic pregnancy/etc are now considered in many isntances to be illegal abortions and doctors face prison and losing their licenses if they induce the evacuation of tissue from your uterus, even if you you are certain to suffer infection, complications and even death. If you have a uterus, stay tf out of that shit hole country. 

Basically, Stay Out of Gilead™®...

Thanks for pointing that issue out!

As a male – even if one quite aware of all the life‑changing challenges females now face in many of the US states with their utter shite laws – your post really brought it home (is that an Americanism, BTW?).

I must admit I haven't even considered that matter from a female foreign worker or traveller's perspective, which is a bit shameful – all I thought of were the females having to live there, but it quite obviously applies to anybody visiting as well.

Shite. Now I feel even more depressed. This timeline needs to be unplugged pronto...

While states like Texas, Alabama and 11 others have near total bans on abortions except in life threatening cases, the majority of states protect abortion access, including California and New York.

Yes, it's ridiculous that in 2025 reproductive rights are even still debated and evangelicals have successfully pushed this issue to the forefront of US politics. However, I don't think being pregnant should stop you from visiting. It's a big country, not everyone thinks the same and differences abound. Easy to identify which states have unacceptable laws to you and then avoid.  

I am sure Rog will have taken every precaution to ensure that he isn't pregnant ...

See also Argentina where tips are essential due to insufficient wages,

JD Vance refused to rule out putting travel restrictions on pregnant females to prevent them moving from red states to blue states 🙁Gilead 

I do wonder what the opinion of these redneck misogynist racists would be if their sister was pregnant by someone from a "different ethnic background". They'd probably not stop at forcing an abortion, and more likely go straight to killing their own relative, along with the father to be.

They make me sick.