I canceled my plans to visit the United States; As Europe, I don’t feel safe

I am based in the United Kingdom, but I have Visited the United States Three times in my life.

When my children were small, I brought them to Florida for a unique trip by exploring the state. During my family’s second visit to the United States, we headed for Texas after a cruise, we stop at the Houston Zoo and having the best Tex-Mex food that I have ever eaten.

On my third, my partner and It A few days in Boston. Although it was raining all the time, we broke out by visiting cafes and enjoying the views of the city’s seafront.

As a European, I always felt welcome in the country and I never worried about my visits beyond the usual disadvantages of travel such as long flights and fatigue.

However, this year, my Concerns concerning the visit of the United States I increased – so much so that I canceled my travel plans to see the Niagara Falls in New York this summer.

Recent titles worry me to cross the border

According to the orders of the Trump administration of Increase national securityI have seen more stories about travelers faced with a meticulous examination on the American border and even to search for their devices by customs agents and the protection of American borders.

A large securities manufacturing incident involved a French researcher who was refused entry to the United States In March after looking for his phone.

French officials said the officers had found the researcher’s opinions on Trump administration on his phone. The United States later denied His dismissal was based on political convictions – but this incident gave me a break.

Although these peripheral search have been legal for a long time and have always been considered relatively Rare and recent incidents like these have triggered my internal alarm bells.

When I shared my concerns with American friends, they advised me not to say that I am a writer on the border and to pack a “burner phone” with me instead of my real if I visit the United States. (People of online travel forums and even Canadian Immigration Lawyers suggested also to use “burner phones” while traveling in the United States.)

I also read a number of tourists visiting the United States who have been detained in recent months.

A British tourists were arrested for 19 days In an American transformation center for immigration and customs (ICE) after trying to go from Canada to the United States in February.

She said that she was traveling on a tourist visa and stayed with a foster family in exchange for making chores. She told the BBC that even if she was not paid, she was told that she had raped her visa.

It doesn’t matter whether this tourist has had legitimate visa violations or paperwork problems, I don’t want to worry that a little mixture could have me sent to a detention center in the United States.

Attitudes and guidelines seem constantly changing

For the moment, my plans to travel to the United States with or without my partner are on a break.

I am not the only person to reconsider trips to the United States, especially given that Canada and Europe flight reservations in the United States have plunged in recent months.

The United Kingdom, as well as many other countries such as Canada, Finland, France, Germany and Portugal, have also published Travel warnings to its citizens who plan to visit the United States.

Currently, the future seems so uncertain. If I had to visit the United States in a few weeks (as I had originally planned), I do not feel confident that I would be authorized in the country or that I would not be detained for a small error or a false step.

If I entered without problem, I do not know what the political situation or the atmosphere concerning Europeans in a few weeks. After all, in the United Kingdom, we heard frequent reports on the constantly evolving political landscape in the United States.

I am also worried after President Donald Trump Anti-Europe feelingsRepeated statements on the desire to make Canada on the 51st state and comments on the taking of Greenland in Denmark.

As an anxious person, all these changes and feelings of instability make me worry, I will not feel welcome in the United States. I know that so many foreigners visit daily without any problem, and I could be very good on my trip, but I would feel too stressed to enjoy it.

I look forward to a moment when I will feel comfortable returning to the United States, perhaps once relations between Europe and America feel less tense.

For the moment, this year, I plan to visit Italy instead.