I was stuck in a freezing cell without explanation despite eventually having lawyers and media attention. Yet, compared with others, I was lucky

  • Maple Engineer@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    As I understand it the issue wasn’t that she was randomly arrested but that she was denied entry at the Canada-US border because she had an expired visa then flew to Mexico and tried again at the Mexico-US border. She believed that she was entitled to enter the US despite the fact that she had an expired visa or green card (I can’t remember which I read it was) and was denied entry.

    I may be wrong but that is what I have read.

    • Perhapsjustsniffit@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      Hmmmmm no. The issue is that people are being treated like chattel based on things they have zero control over like where they were born.

      • Maple Engineer@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I traveled to the US last week and was treated with respect. It looked like she was trying to game the system. She presented at a port of entry on the Canadian border with an expired visa and was denied entry. She then got a valid visa, flew to Mexico, and tried to cross at a port of entry there (as I now understand it.) I would have gone back to the original port of entry where I was denied entry and presented my now valid visa. The US way over reacted but they are a police state and that’s what police states do.

          • Maple Engineer@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            She is not an innocent victim. She is not telling the whole story. She was denied access and tried to get in by going to another country. She should have gone back to the original border crossing or to the US embassy to get things straightened out instead of flying to Mexico and trying from there.

            She was treated badly but she was treated no more badly than anyone else who FsA and FsO with the CBP and DHS.

            • Perhapsjustsniffit@lemmy.ca
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              2 days ago

              She is not the only person documented in the story. The others don’t matter because they’re not the right nationality for you? It is well documented that not all the people swept up in these deportation camps are guilt of any crime.

    • badwetter@kbin.melroy.orgOP
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      2 days ago

      @MapleEngineer@lemmy.world Indeed, I was puzzled why she was applying at the San Diego border, rather than Vancouver. She tried to get around the rules. It was relatively shady, and probably advised to do so by an immigration lawyer or someone. Thanks for raising this data point, I hadn’t been aware of that specific.

      • Maple Engineer@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I’m not sure that my understanding is correct. Someone else suggested that she was denied, then got her visa in order and tried to cross from Mexico, and her visa was revoked. I can understand why, expired visa, denied entry from Canada, presents at Mexican border with a now valid visa could raise questions. I probably would have gone back to the original port where I was denied entry to present my now valid visa rather than flying to another port of entry to try again but that’s just me.

        I traveled to the US last week using my Nexus card. I was cleared by the biometric kiosk, handed over my passport at customs, and was cleared without being asked a single question. He literally looked at my passport and said, “You’re good.” and handed it back.

        I don’t think this case is as simple as, “I had everything in order and was put in chains in a cold cell for two weeks” as she’s portraying it. I think that the US way over reacted but that’s what they do. They are a police state and have been for many years.

        • badwetter@kbin.melroy.orgOP
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          2 days ago

          @MapleEngineer@lemmy.world Agreed it’s not as simple as it appears at 1st glance. In any event, she should have been cognizant of the mood in the country since Trump was elected. Lesson learned, I’m sure. The consulate in one’s home country is the place to apply, always. Common sense … IMHO.

          • Maple Engineer@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            Pretty much. You are not entitled to enter the US (or any other country that you are not a citizen of with a right of entry (as Canadians have at the Canadian border under Section 6 (1) of the Charter.))