Over in the Pit Thread, US won’t let Canadian fly to US to accept award, Sunspace comments that he’s less interested in travelling to the US nowadays. I have to say I’ve got some sympathy for that position, since if I got into trouble down there, I can no longer be guaranteed a fair trial by a civil court, no habeas corpus, and so on. There’s lots of places in the world I’d think twice about travelling to because of the lack of basic legal protections, and the US may have now joined that list.
Mrs. Piper and I were thinking of a trip to New England, but we’ve been re-thinking it, and may just stay in Canada.
Any other non-Americans reluctant to travel to the US nowadays?
That’s a ridiculous assertion. If you, as a foreigner, get arrested here, you’ll have the same level of judicial protection you’ve always had. I know people like to think that Bush has destroyed the judicial system and made it so that he can lock up people forever without trial, but that is simply false.
No, I would love to visit New York (in fact, I just entered a competition to win a trip there). Also Boston and lots of other places in between. Not sure I’d like to live there (for lots of reasons) but visiting is fine by me.
In fairness, I should say that I’m untrusting of the US system these days partly because of my choice of grandparents, family, friends, and family friends. They include political and social activists, socialist politicians, and other ne’er-do-wells, definitely people that a Bushite would distrust.
Come to think of it, just a) having a couple of Iranian acquaintances and b) speaking Esperanto probably puts me on a list.
I must add, though, that I personally have not been barred or had trouble entering the US, even though I know people that have.
I for one will not visit the US at this time and won’t do so until some semblance of normality has been restored.
I am an outspoken (nearly rabid) anti-Bush person who thinks in time he should be held accountable for the crimes against humanity and the US constitution.
(I know, I know, but a man can dream).
The whole hysterical security deal right now, doesn’t make me feel particularly welcome in the States.
US border officials have the right to detain anybody for any reason, whatsoever. That reality, coupled with the Arar case have merely reinforced my committment not to cross the border until the current security hysteria and unconstitutional anti-terror laws are mitigated by a saner administration.
This is a matter of principle for me since I’m an employed, middle-class white guy and, thus, extremely unlikely to run into trouble with racial profiling. However, I find the current US admin’s foreign and security policies greatly disturbing and I choose not to subject myself to their whims. This sucks because, as a former frequent visitor (sometimes once or twice a week for several years), the majority of Americans that I’ve met are decent people and I also wouldn’t mind visiting some family friends down in Florida sometime in the future.
Therefore, my greatest hope is that the post-Bush administration will work towards restoring some sort of normalcy in international relations.
Unless the Administration declares that you are an “unlawful combatant” – then it’s Gitmo if you’re lucky, and a torture chamber in Syria if you are unlucky.
Not quite. One, you have to be fighting against the U.S. If you are a Canadian visiting relatives in Florida, I have a hard time thinking that this could in any way be construed as fighting against the U.S. Two, even if you are declared this it means that you will have a trial in a military court. Three, you have the right of appeal to regular courts.
So all this concern about foreigners being rounded up and thrown into jail forever is completelyl ridiculous. These fears have absolutely no basis in fact and they are just people over-reacting because of their hatred for Bush.
There are many ways you could be fighting against the US while visiting Florida, e.g., by driving a truck loaded with explosives into a govbernment building or a military base. Suppose the US Government decided that you were planning to do that, and declared you an unlawful combatant. What real protection does a foreigner visiting the US now have?
And to answer the question: the thought has crossed my mind. However, I live in the States now, and I’m comforted that I am not the ‘objectionable’ kind of person: I’m female, white, middle-class and Canadian-born.
If nothing else, I have faith that Canada and my parents would put up a terrible stink if something happened.
Yes. Did you actually read about changes to U.S. laws regarding alien enemy combatants?
And what is being conveniently forgotten by our Canadian friends is that it was the RCMP that fingered Arar for his arrest in the U.S. So while the U.S. shares most of the blame, without the Canadian government labeling him a terrorist none of this would have happened. So maybe you’re not so safe up there as you think, eh?
First, I always seem to get singled out for the secondary inspection when I fly into or out of the US. I’m tired of it. It doesn’t happen to me when I fly within Canada; why does it always happen when I fly to the US?
Secondly, with the new passport requirements coming (not yet here though), I’m in a bit of a bind. I need a guarantor for a passport application, but since moving to Alberta, I have not yet known anybody among the qualifying professions long enough to have one of them guarantee my application.
Normally, this wouldn’t present much of a problem, but my in-laws are American and live in the US. If a family emergency happens, which given the state of health of a couple of them is possible, and my wife and I need to get there, it is likely I’ll be SOL without a passport. Again, the requirement is not yet in place, but it will be, and I hope that by then I’ll have known a guarantor long enough.
