Over 170 million Europeans have received a very clear warning from their governments this week: precautions must be taken when traveling to the United States. Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Finland have changed their websites to alert their citizens.
The new regulations, combined with news of arrests at the border or denial of entry permits -such as yesterday's case of the British punk group UK Subs- could have an impact on the U.S. tourism sector. The United Kingdom is the main source of tourists to the USA, with four million visitors each year, while Germany contributes another two million.
U.S. customs authorities - like all law enforcement agencies in that country in general - have much greater freedom than their European counterparts to decide how and when to enforce regulations. The case of the French scientist whose entry into the USA, where he was going to participate in a symposium in Houston, was rejected upon arrival because his mobile phone contained messages criticizing the scientific policy of Donald Trump is perhaps the most extreme.
In the cases of the governments of Germany and the United Kingdom, the warning is due to any intentional or accidental error in completing customs procedures, which could result in the detention of the visitor in question. What used to be minor infractions that could at worst lead to being denied entry into the country can now result in weeks of jail time. However, Denmark and Finland have updated their websites to alert transgender individuals that they may encounter issues when traveling to the USA.
The British change seems to be a consequence of the case of Rebecca Mooney, who was arrested for 10 days in the United States when she tried to travel from that country to Canada. Ottawa authorities rejected her tourist visa and instructed her to return to the USA to apply for a work visa there. Normally, such changes are not a problem. However, upon re-entering the United States, Mooney was detained without explanation.
For this reason, the official British travel website to the United States was updated last Saturday to warn visitors to that country that they "may be arrested or detained if they violate the rules." In reality, it is a very mild warning, given that Mooney does not appear to have violated any U.S. rules.
Germany made a similar correction to its websites last Tuesday. Since Donald Trump took office, at least three citizens of that country have been detained in the USA. One of them is a 29-year-old woman who spent almost two months in jail trying to enter the country from Mexico. Another, who has a work and residence permit in the United States, has been detained for a week after being arrested at Boston airport upon arrival from Luxembourg.
Furthermore, detentions are under harsh conditions, often involving transfers from one detention center to another - in practice, prisons in many cases privately owned - with restraints on ankles, wrists, and waist. This is what happened to Canadian Jasmine Mooney, who resided and worked in San Diego (California) with a special visa for citizens of the countries under the free trade agreement between the USA, Canada, and Mexico that has been in effect since 1995. In her case, there was no error. Simply, a customs official suspected that Mooney's travels were "unusual," resulting in two weeks in different private prisons in the USA, as she herself has recounted to The Guardian.