In the nearly three months that have passed since the President Donald Trump administration started its term and with it an immigration crackdown, multiple nations have updated their guidance for traveling to the U.S.
Germany warned travelers that “even a slight overstay of the visa upon entry or exit can lead to arrest, detention, and deportation upon entry or exit” while the United Kingdom stresses that “the authorities in the U.S. set and enforce entry rules strictly.”
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Denmark, Finland, Portugal, France and the Netherlands are among the other countries to issue new advisories for citizens traveling to the U.S.
Canada has pushed back, issues warning
After Trump spent much of the winter referring to the country’s northern neighbor as “the 51st state”, Canada is now also seeing a large portion of its population independently cancel travel to the U.S. both in protest and out of fear of potential problems at the border.
Related: Canada’s call to cancel U.S. travel could mean massive losses
At the start of April, the Canadian government has also updated its advisory to tell citizens to “expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices” when crossing into the U.S.
“Comply and be forthcoming in all interactions with border authorities,” the new advisory reads. “If you are denied entry, you could be detained while awaiting deportation.”
The advisory further warns that border agents can request to see a traveler’s phone or other electronic device and are not obligated to provide a reason for doing so.
Even so, the official travel rating remains at level one’s “take normal precautions” that the U.S. and Canada have had for each other for decades. The previous guidance simply stated that the decision on whether to grant or deny entry always rests with the country that a non-citizen is seeking to visit.
Since the start of the Trump administration, relations between the U.S. and Canada have deteriorated rapidly.
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‘U.S. authorities strictly enforce entry requirements’
“Individual border agents often have significant discretion in making those determinations,” the updated advisory now reads further. “U.S. authorities strictly enforce entry requirements.”
This ominous-sounding warning comes after 35-year-old Canadian actress and entrepreneur Jasmine Mooney spent 12 days in detention at the Otay Mesa detention center in San Diego after trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico and apply for a work visa. Other high-profile cases of British and German tourists being placed in detention are continuing to scare many off U.S. travel altogether.
A recent report from the U.S. Travel Association estimated that even a 10% reduction in the total number of Canadian visits to states like Florida and California would cost the travel industry $2.1 billion and 140,000 lost hospitality jobs (the actual estimates of Canadians canceling trips are much higher).
A separate report from research firm Tourism Economics now predicts that while it was previously projected to grow international tourism to the U.S. will now fall by 15.2% by the time 2025 is over.
More on travel:
United Airlines places big bet on new flights to trendy destinationGovernment issues new travel advisory on popular beach destinationAnother country just issued a new visa requirement for visitors
“Historical data underscores that trade and geopolitical tensions influence travel demand,” the report’s authors wrote. “During the previous U.S.-China trade dispute, the US share of China’s long-haul outbound travel market shrank considerably. Similarly, during past periods of strained U.S.-Mexico relations, visitor numbers from Mexico declined by 3%.”
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