What is on Your Computer Can Stop You From Entering the U.S.

[Undaunted]

Some turned away because of what is on their social media sites:

https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/27/borde ... ial-media/

[Gaybutton]

I have mixed feeling about this. If just obtaining a visa to travel to the USA is anything like it is in Bangkok, applicants have to get through stringent, comprehensive checks in the first place. I don't object to them being subjected to checks again when trying to enter the USA, but that depends on how it is done. Most of us know when dealing with Thailand's immigration offices, often the outcome depends on the whim of the immigration officer. Is it the same for foreigners trying to enter the USA?

I think if there truly are obvious "red lights" then an officer in the USA would be duty bound to deny entry. Someone trying to enter with electronic devices containing material or links to web sites openly and vehemently hostile to the USA is not only very foolish, but also is the wrong person to be admitted to the USA. In such a case I would agree with denying him entry.

According to the article, the Lebanese young man was denied entry because "officers who searched his phone and computer reportedly took issue with his friends’ social media activity." The article provides no further information as to just what was found, so it's hard to say whether they were right or wrong to deny him entry.

The article seems to criticize the idea that people trying to enter the USA can be searched and their belongings searched without a warrant. What is immigration supposed to do, get a search warrant for anyone they think should be searched? I don't know of any country that would have such a requirement and I think the idea of immigration needing a search warrant is ridiculous. They are entitled to search anyone, for any reason, trying to enter the USA, including USA citizens - and I'm glad they do.

The one thing I object to is that a single officer can deny entry to someone and the person denied has no recourse. I think someone denied entry should be able to get an inspection by a second officer. If the two officers agree, then the person is denied entry. But if they disagree, I think there should be some form of immediate tie-breaker appeal available before being sent back to their home country.

[werner99]

What happened to the Palestinian young man is very frightening.
But what can we expect from the U.S. under damn Trump?

[gera]

What happened to the Palestinian young man is very frightening.
But what can we expect from the U.S. under damn Trump?

But at least we do not ban construction of minarets on the mosques like in Switzerland.

[werner99]

What happened to the Palestinian young man is very frightening.
But what can we expect from the U.S. under damn Trump?

But at least we do not ban construction of minarets on the mosques like in Switzerland.

So...?

Do you criticize or agree with the actions of the American immigration authorities towards this young Palestinian man?

I am definitely against bigoted policies in Switzerland or any other country, and I am definitely against the ban on the construction of minarets on mosques in Switzerland or any other country. As a person trained in civil engineering and architecture, I have spoken out against such policies.

[Undaunted]

I just googled synagogues in Switzerland and there are many so I don’t think Switzerland is saying Christians only. I do have mixed feelings. I blame the current state of affairs in Europe squarely on the shoulders of Angela Merkel of Germany. Europe is largely a Judaeo/Christian culture and flooding Europe with people from an alien culture is a recipe for disaster; imagine for a moment if the reverse was true and Jews and Christians descended on the Arab world en mass, I don’t think the result would be anything less than a disaster.

[Gaybutton]

Do you criticize or agree with the actions of the American immigration authorities towards this young Palestinian man?

Without knowing what was found, I think it's too soon to decide whether to agree or disagree with what happened. Until we know what was found, if we ever know, in my opinion that's when to start passing judgment on the actions of the American immigration authorities.

We really know virtually nothing yet. All we know is he was denied entry because of something they found. We don't know what they found. We don't know why whatever was found was considered grounds to deny him entry. We don't know who denied him entry. We don't know whether it was just one person who denied him entry or several. We don't know what the Lebanese man said to explain what they found. If the Lebanese man had an explanation, we don't know why the explanation was not accepted. We don't even know yet why he was searched.

I'm not willing to assume this was a case of bigotry or that he was unjustly denied entry without having the whole story.

[Jun]

I just googled synagogues in Switzerland and there are many so I don’t think Switzerland is saying Christians only. I do have mixed feelings. I blame the current state of affairs in Europe squarely on the shoulders of Angela Merkel of Germany. Europe is largely a Judaeo/Christian culture and flooding Europe with people from an alien culture is a recipe for disaster; imagine for a moment if the reverse was true and Jews and Christians descended on the Arab world en mass, I don’t think the result would be anything less than a disaster.

Mostly agreed.

Anyone who has an appreciation of the last 2000 years of history will see much evidence of conflict between Islam & Christianity. I would rather not have any immigration at all from the middle East. I would advise the US to restrict this as well, but that's a matter for the US.

I quite like Swiss policy on minarets. People shouldn't expect to move to a country and have a free hand to modify it to be like their homeland. On the contrary, they should be expecting to adapt to their new country.

I could go on further, but perhaps it is time to get back to the topic.

The US can adopt whatever immigration rules it chooses. However, I went their once on business and the whole immigration process was so slow and unpleasant, I'm in no hurry to go back. I've heard several US citizens complaining about the hassle they get when returning from Thailand. Perhaps there are not enough US voters inconvenienced for the democratic process to fix this.

[gera]

Do you criticize or agree with the actions of the American immigration authorities

Recently I attended a big research conference in Germany. The program was printed in advance but every day organizers updated it. From these updates it was clear that literally dozens of researchers from countries like Iran and China were denied the visa and could not attend. That included a number of PH D students from North American Universities( of the same nationalities).

That was a shame. Trump is doing a lot of ugly things and likes to talk about it bluntly (his base loves it). But Europeans are doing even more ugly things when it comes to immigration (think of capsized boats and hundreds of dead or boats nobody wants to receive). The only difference is that they try to wrap it up in politically correct bullshit.

What I am saying is that "let him who is without sin cast the first stone". And talking about Switzerland I recall French documentary about absolutely racist deportation camp in "respectable" Switzerland. And by the way, do you know how many people are denied entry to Switzerland?

[gera]

The US can adopt whatever immigration rules it chooses. However, I went their once on business and the whole immigration process was so slow and unpleasant, I'm in no hurry to go back. I've heard several US citizens complaining about the hassle they get when returning from Thailand. Perhaps there are not enough US voters inconvenienced for the democratic process to fix this.

If you want to avoid it , apply for "Global entry". Citizens of many European countries are eligible for this. Currently entry to US for participants of this program is a breeze. For me passing through US immigration is taking couple of minutes on average. I noticed that US immigration data bases improved quite significantly recently. In other words , NOT EVERYTHING BAD IN AMERICA. Actually many things getting better, much better...