The United States is unsafe for travel now

Canadians used to think of travel to the United States as just a normal part of our lives -- we made trips for work across the US, for fun in Vegas or Disney World or Nashville or Hawaii, shopping trips to New York, tours to California wineries, sports in Chicago or Houston or Atlanta, concerts in Seattle - good shopping, interesting cities, relaxing beaches, beautiful landscapes, great arenas ...

Not anymore
There's just too much risk now in crossing the US border, too much danger of tripping over some kind of invisible racist circuit-breaker or annoying some border agent on a power trip -- it's just too much to worry about.
Like, have we ever had any kind of issue in the past with getting a visa for the US? Overstay by even a few hours? And which entry port are we trying to use? And did we ever criticize Trump on social media? Do we have any tattoos? Or funny photos on our phones? Do we draw comics? And even, what's our opinion on climate change?

Jasmine Mooney / The Guardian

I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped
I was stuck in a freezing cell without explanation despite eventually having lawyers and media attention. Yet, compared with others, I was lucky
I restarted the visa process and returned to the same immigration office at the San Diego border, since they had processed my visa before and I was familiar with it. Hours passed, with many confused opinions about my case. The officer I spoke to was kind but told me that, due to my previous issues, I needed to apply for my visa through the consulate. I told her I hadn’t been aware I needed to apply that way, but had no problem doing it.
Then she said something strange: “You didn’t do anything wrong. You are not in trouble, you are not a criminal.”
I remember thinking: Why would she say that? Of course I’m not a criminal
She then told me they had to send me back to Canada. That didn’t concern me; I assumed I would simply book a flight home. But as I sat searching for flights, a man approached me.
“Come with me,” he said.
There was no explanation, no warning. He led me to a room, took my belongings from my hands and ordered me to put my hands against the wall. A woman immediately began patting me down. The commands came rapid-fire, one after another, too fast to process.
They took my shoes and pulled out my shoelaces.
“What are you doing? What is happening?” I asked.
“You are being detained.”
“I don’t understand. What does that mean? For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
That would be the response to nearly every question I would ask over the next two weeks: “I don’t know.”
...To put things into perspective: I had a Canadian passport, lawyers, resources, media attention, friends, family and even politicians advocating for me. Yet, I was still detained for nearly two weeks.
Imagine what this system is like for every other person in there.
...When I finally landed in Canada, my mom and two best friends were waiting for me. So was the media. I spoke to them briefly, numb and delusional from exhaustion.
It was surreal listening to my friends recount everything they had done to get me out: working with lawyers, reaching out to the media, making endless calls to detention centers, desperately trying to get through to Ice or anyone who could help. They said the entire system felt rigged, designed to make it nearly impossible for anyone to get out.
The reality became clear: Ice detention isn’t just a bureaucratic nightmare. It’s a business. These facilities are privately owned and run for profit.
Companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group receive government funding based on the number of people they detain, which is why they lobby for stricter immigration policies. It’s a lucrative business: CoreCivic made over $560m from Ice contracts in a single year. In 2024, GEO Group made more than $763m from Ice contracts.
The more detainees, the more money they make. It stands to reason that these companies have no incentive to release people quickly. What I had experienced was finally starting to make sense.
This is not just my story. It is the story of thousands and thousands of people still trapped in a system that profits from their suffering. I am writing in the hope that someone out there – someone with the power to change any of this – can help do something.
The strength I witnessed in those women, the love they gave despite their suffering, is what gives me faith. Faith that no matter how flawed the system, how cruel the circumstances, humanity will always shine through.
Even in the darkest places, within the most broken systems, humanity persists. Sometimes, it reveals itself in the smallest, most unexpected acts of kindness: a shared meal, a whispered prayer, a hand reaching out in the dark. We are defined by the love we extend, the courage we summon and the truths we are willing to tell.

We also have to worry about our on-line messages and posting history now:

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And whether we have any tattoos. And whether we ever posted a funny photos. And whether we ever drew comics for a living. And even, for crying out loud, if we ever wrote something about climate change that maybe Trump wouldn't like:

Or even if we did nothing at all but just didn't look "white"?

Police encounters inside the United States are also becoming problematic for Canadians:

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Here is a Bluesky thread about people from around the world who had problems at the US border:

Basically, the advice now is "watch out!"

....U.S. immigration lawyer Jim Hacking says Mooney's case is part of a rising number of incidents in the past 10 days where individuals with different immigration statuses— including one with a permanent resident card—have been detained or deported in unprecedented ways.
Hacking says he has been advising non-citizens to avoid leaving the United States, as he believes there is a growing risk they may not be allowed to return.
This warning also applies to Canadians with current or past work visas or other forms of immigration status, he adds.
"In the 17 years I've been practicing immigration law, I've never heard of a TN visa holder being detained for days on end and not being allowed to enter," said Hacking, founder of Hacking Immigration Law in St. Louis, Missouri.

Canadians are already avoiding US travel -- half a million fewer trips in just the last month:

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Other countries are also taking notice:

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Americans are starting to notice a certain....emptiness:

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And what pisses me off the most is that America's screwed up politics are now going to affect Canada's sports:

Because also, what will happen now to Canadian fans who want to attend the World Cup. And the Olympics. And the hockey playoffs. And the basketball playoffs? Do we dare to attend these events anymore? Will our athletes be jailed at the border? Does the rest of the world also stay away?

 Here's the end of the discussion in a short thread on Bluesky: