Monthly Archives: January 2017

The New Reality at U.S. borders?

Will 2017 and the years to follow bring in a new reality at U.S. Borders? Initial indications are concerning. Several reports have already been filed regarding unprofessional and intolerable treatment of both immigrants and U.S. Citizens at ports-of-entry. In one instance two U.S. Citizens who are Muslims were questioned about their social media use and asked for passwords, usernames and other information completely irrelevant to their travel outside the U.S. Other incidents involved non-citizens who sought to enter the United States legally to attend school or to work. One student who was entering the U.S. to finish his PhD was informed by a Customs and Border Protection officer that his, “new boss,” President elect, Donald Trump, will make sure that there won’t be a job for him when he graduates.” While I can’t imagine an incoming President making any such promise, it is clear that Trump supporters within the government are emboldened by his election and believe they have the right to express their political opinions and harass people legally entering this country based solely on the fact that our President elect made numerous anti-immigrant statements during the campaign. Regardless of how you feel about immigration in this country it appears that some people should not be doing the work they were hired to do. U.S. Citizens and non-citizens entering our country legally do not need to be harassed at our borders by people with a political agenda nobody cares about or wants them to express. Let’s all hope the early indications of how we can expect to be treated at our ports-of-entry don’t continue down this slippery slope.