When political science professor Arash Abizadeh heard last month about foreign travellers being detained at the U.S. border, he cancelled plans to speak at an upcoming academic conference in Durham, N.C.
He believes heightened scrutiny at the U.S. border makes travel to the country too uncertain.
“Why would we subject ourselves to this?” asked Abizadeh, who teaches at McGill University in Montreal.
“We can say to ourselves, ‘Well, I haven’t done anything wrong,’ but then you have to ask yourself questions like … ‘Have I said anything on social media that the current regime might find critical of them?’ “
Abizadeh joins a growing number of Canadians cancelling plans to visit the United States.
The number of return trips among Canadians travelling to the U.S. in February plummeted compared to the previous year: down by 13 per cent for air travel, and a whopping 23 per cent for land travel. March data, which Statistics Canada will release later this morning, is expected to show a further decline.
One reason for the drop in travel is anger over U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. Another reason gaining ground: concern over beefed up border security following Trump’s pledge to crack down on immigration.
Recent reports of foreigners being detained for longer than a week, including two German tourists, a backpacker from Wales and Canadian Jasmine Mooney, have created a chill among many Canadians who used to travel to the U.S. without hesitation.
Mooney was detained for 11 days last month after she tried to enter the U.S., and her work visa application was denied at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I got put into real jail. So it’s just like the movies, two levels, cells on each side,” she said in an interview with CBC News last week. “I didn’t leave my cell for, I think, 24 hours, to be honest. I was so distraught.”
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U.S. immigration lawyer, Len Saunders, counselled Mooney about her case. He says that, in previous administrations, when travellers’ visa applications didn’t meet the bar, they would typically be sent back to their home country.
“You would never have seen them in custody, especially more than maybe a day,” said Saunders, whose office in Blaine, Wash., is close to the Canadian border.
“There seems to be absolutely no discretion,” he said. “It’s almost like the pendulum has gone 180 degrees from low enforcement to just maximum enforcement.”
When asked about the recent detainments, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) replied in an email that the Trump administration is cracking down on people who try to enter the U.S. under fraudulent pretenses or with malicious intent.
“Lawful travellers have nothing to fear from these measures, which are designed to protect our nation’s security,” wrote Hilton Beckham, CBP’s assistant commissioner.
Despite CBP’s message, Jennifer Love, a chemistry professor at the University of Calgary, has cancelled plans to speak at an upcoming conference in Honolulu.
Love has dual citizenship in Canada and the United States. Even so, she worries about possible troubles at the border, because she’s openly critical of the Trump administration on social media, and a proponent of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
Trump is cracking down on DEI initiatives, calling them “illegal and immoral discrimination programs.” In January, he directed that all federal DEI staff be put on paid leave and eventually laid off.
“I don’t want to elevate my particular status, but having a professor detained who is really supportive of [DEI] issues and has been very critical of the administration, they could use that as a message to other people,” said Love.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if there’s some profile on me at this point.”
There are also concerns in the Iranian Canadian community over travel to the U.S.
The Trump administration, which has strained relations with Iran, has proposed a travel ban on citizens from the country.
Toronto-based Atlas Travel, which serves Canada’s Iranian community, used to book several flights a week to Los Angeles — home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
But manager Azin Mohager says most clients no longer want to travel to the U.S., fearful they’ll be targeted at the border.
“They feel unwelcome.”
She says that feeling is warranted, as she’s heard from several clients who were recently interrogated by U.S. border officials.
“In some cases they have even asked them to open up their phone and they log into their social media,” said Mohager. “Just because [of] your name or just because of the place of your birth, you have to go through this.”
Abizadeh, the McGill professor, is an Iranian Canadian. But he says it’s difficult to predict why he or any other Canadian crossing the border could be targeted.
“We just don’t know,” he said. “It’s not transparent.”
Abizadeh noted that even speaking with CBC News for this story could make him a target.
“If I was thinking of going to the U.S., would I be giving this interview? Absolutely not.”
Last week, the federal government quietly updated its online travel advice to the U.S. Under the heading “entry and exit requirements,” Ottawa now reminds travellers to “expect scrutiny” at the U.S. border, including smartphone searches.
It also states that those denied entry could be temporarily detained.
