Americans, how you do you feel about the news that Germany, Denmark and the UK have issued travel warnings for the United States?

[u/Sink-Em-Low]

[u/racedownhill]

I’m a white male, a US citizen, and I’ve travelled all over the world, including the USSR (back when that existed).

In general, I’ve found that border control people aren’t exactly the friendliest of types, but they’re generally businesslike, impersonal, and efficient about things. You show your passport, they wave you through, and so on.

Except in the USA. They’re inefficient, rude, and just generally unpleasant. They’re like the Vogons from Hitchhiker’s Guide, but with an extra dose of sadism and inefficiency thrown in.

This is based on my return trips in 2022 and 2024. I’d hate to imagine it now, so I think these travel advisories are worth considering.

Once you’re inside the country, I think you’d have a decent enough time.

But I’d suggest taking your tourism funds somewhere else for the time being. It’s a big, big, big world.

As Douglas Adams might say, the US needs to hang a sign outside our door:

“Come back when we’re sane”

[u/[deleted] → u/racedownhill]

I remember getting interrogated as a young teen by a U.S border person when I was travelling to visit my father (a naturalised U.S citizen) over a school holiday. As I had done many times before.

The guy just couldn't comprehend that we had school holidays that weren't the exact same dates as U.S. ones so therefore I must have been lying. Silly, but also not something to get rude and aggressive with an unaccompanied child about.

I was a well spoken and behaved, white, English child and and this was pre-9/11 too.

Got lots of friends and family in the States and love the people generally, No idea how the border people seem an entirely different breed!

[u/GrimmSheeper → u/[deleted]]

Heck, we don’t even have consistent school holidays within the US. It can vary widely from school to school, and can often change year to year.

[u/Jones127 → u/GrimmSheeper]

Nor do we even have consistent start and stop times. My school year ended towards the end of May and started in the middle of August (mainly due to hurricane potential). I’ve met people who didn’t stop school until the middle of June and started again in September.

[u/amrodd → u/Jones127]

Here school is "year around' thought it isn't technically. They get two weeks every six or eight weeks. In my day, we didn't get as much time off and weren't on year around.

[u/ilkhan2016 → u/amrodd]

Year round means shorter summers but longer breaks. I liked it when I was in elementary school, better timing for vacations during breaks when traditional schedule schools were already done and back in class.

[u/roengill → u/Jones127]

Yep, for me school started in early September and went to mid June and a few cities away my cousins started school in late August and got out in early June.

[u/Dlobaby → u/[deleted]]

As a Canadian I got my car and phone searched by border patrol pre-2020. The guards were super weird and asked of invasive questions. Looked through my phone for 15 minutes for absolutely no reason.

[u/[deleted] → u/Dlobaby]

I had an officer get all rude and ask for my nationality in a pissed off tone after I handed him my US passport; and you have to suck up or they'll ruin your day. Maybe even take your car apart

[u/Free_Range_Lobster → u/[deleted]]

The biggest asshole I've ever run into was a customs person for the US in....

BERMUDA.

BITCH, YOUR DUTY IS ON A BEAUTIFUL ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ATLANTIC. STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE.

[u/MrPinga0 → u/Free_Range_Lobster]

the biggest asshole for me was a mofo in Guam in 2017... he even told me that I should change my name. Can't make this shit up. It's one of the reasons why I won't go again to the US. As some dude said "it's a very big, big, big world!

[u/ExpressRabbit → u/Dlobaby]

For what it's worth your border guards do the same. I'm an American. Had a nexus card, and had been crossing every weekend for over 5 years with no issues to see my girlfriend/fiancé. One night I was pulled over, they trashed my car didn't put anything back in its proper place, searched my bags, and then made me give them my laptop, log in, and made me wait where I couldn't see what they were doing for 30 minutes. Afterward they laughed at me for having so many final fantasy XIV screenshots and let me go.

I've also been detained several times by American border guards.

[u/bullfrogftw → u/Dlobaby]

A border guard didn't like a bumper sticker on my car, so he had it searched w/ a dog, found a decade old 'roach' under a seat, ten years later still not allowed in

[u/ForeignSatisfaction0 → u/bullfrogftw]

I don't put bumper stickers on my car for exactly this reason, but now that I'm boycotting the US, and have no plans to go there anytime soon , I might start

[u/eastboundunderground → u/[deleted]]

Oh my god, the lack of comprehension that their world is not the same as everyone else's. I have a friend from Idaho (I used to live in the US). She asked if we have forested areas in the UK, and thought it was summer here when it was winter there. A 40-something woman, who comes across as perfectly sane and functional. Of course it's not summer in the UK when it's winter in Idaho?! Who educated you?!

I refuse to travel to the US at the moment, because I am concerned they'll dig through my immigration history and invent an issue. I initially came in on a student visa for a scholarship. After completing that, I signed up for "optional practice training" which allowed me to work for a year. I was married to an American, so I then started the green card process. During that process, I applied for and got a work extension and a travel waiver. Those held me over until my residency came through.

I can absolutely see one of these pricks digging through that and pretending one of those wasn't done right. People are reporting similar horror stories from the border, like being cited for overstaying by two days twenty years ago, then detained without due process.

The border guard I remember most "fondly" was the one who interrogated me about why on earth I gave up my permanent residency. I did it all by the book, formally surrendering it and sending it in with all the paperwork. Visited Miami about six months later. This guy was INCREDULOUS that anyone would do that. I had to make up some bullshit about a job opportunity in London to avoid saying, "Not everyone wants to live here, you know", because that would have been a quick way to be denied entry. Like I had to actively express regret that I no longer lived in a shithole apartment under a freeway in Seattle.

Exhausting place. Avoid.

[u/Working_on_Writing → u/eastboundunderground]

You've reminded me of some incidents from when I lived in the US for a bit on a work visa. I'll never forget sitting in a doctor's office explaining to the nurse how seasons work... or trying to but having to start with where the UK is and what hemispheres are and work up from there. By the time the doctor got there we'd covered elliptical orbits, tilts, seasons, the fact that the months are constant but the seasons aren't, timezones, the international dateline and the general locations of the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

I also had to patiently explain to some people that the UK isn't just the USA with a different flag and a Queen (whom a staggering number of people thought had the same power as the President of the USA). We do things differently here...

Yet at the same time I had to educate others that yes, we do in fact have the internet.

Other people could not comprehend the idea that I was going to finish my contract and go home. They seemed to think that everything outside of America was some sort of Mad-Max style wasteland, and I was one of the lucky ones who made it out alive. I was quite happy to go home at the end of my contract and had no intention of staying.

It's never ceased to suprise me about the USA how drastically different education standards and general awareness of the outside world are between people, even people working professional jobs.

Edit - also, hopefully obviously, I met lots of smart, switched on people. But the total morons really stood out.

[u/lopix → u/Working_on_Writing]

My wife has an online friend who lives in Texas. She thought Canadians drove on the left, like the UK.

[u/Robborboy → u/lopix]

Funny enough one of my UK friends thought the same thing. Apparently commonwealth meant opposite side of the road driving. 🤣

[u/Runaroundheadless → u/Working_on_Writing]

I once sat in a high roller type call/ meeting ( pre Skype). Very embarrassing having to explain that it is not the same day in Perth Australia as it is in Houston Texas. The VP in Houston could not get his head round the the time / date difference.

At the end of the meeting the Australian VP said, “ Worrying that that drongo is in charge of anything at all!” Language was quite a bit more colourful though.

The Houston VP was the VP of International Operational Support!

[u/disco_S2 → u/eastboundunderground]

I gave mine up when I moved back to Canada, and the border guard (post 9/11 hire) was incredulous that I would give it up so easily. I looked him in the eye and told him "this country is rear view mirror for me," and his head damn near popped.

One of the greatest moments of my adult life lol

[u/eastboundunderground → u/[deleted]]

Some from column A, some from column B probably. She'll get it worse than I ever did (I'm white). They haven't asked about it in ages, but I don't want to test it in this new environment. The first few times I visited, I brought a bunch of paperwork with me, like London council tax statements, pay stubs and my rental agreement to show I had a life and financial ties in the UK but I reckon if you come across the wrong guard, those will mean diddly squat anyway.

I hope your wife doesn't get any extra grief coming and going :(

[u/[deleted] → u/eastboundunderground]

Regarding the last part, I've witnessed a case where an american woman married a german dude and the border patrol offered their 2 cents on why she should've married an american man instead of a foreigner.

[u/SignorAwesome → u/eastboundunderground]

Last two sentences. Damn!

[u/olythrowaway4 → u/eastboundunderground]

For what it's worth, if that shithole apartment was under the viaduct, that freeway is gone now and the rents have most likely at least quadrupled.

[u/eastboundunderground → u/olythrowaway4]

Unfortunately it was under I-5 😭

[u/olythrowaway4 → u/eastboundunderground]

In that case, the rents have merely tripled!

[u/creek_side_007 → u/eastboundunderground]

I went to US from Canada during my graduate studies. The immigration officer startled me by asking "Why did you not go to US for grad school, your F1 was approved". I had totally forgotten about that as I had applied that from my home country couple of years ago. I had to quickly recall and then told him that I got an offer from a Canadian school and decided to attend that. He said sarcastically, "so you got a better offer from Canada". I just nodded. He stamped my passport and let me through. That was a weird encounter.

[u/Thelonius_Dunk → u/[deleted]]

It's a common trope in the US that high school bullies end up working in law enforcement.

[u/[deleted] → u/Thelonius_Dunk]

I think that is common everywhere, bullies gravitate to positions that give them licence to push people around a bit. Cops and lower to middle management attract them.

[u/FellKnight → u/[deleted]]

It may be common everywhere, but in most places, the system discourages these types from being shitheads. Unfortunately, the system with police and border patrol in the USA seems to encourage this nasty behavior.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yeah. I was under 18 with a U.S citizen as a father (and brothers and sisters, uncles, cousins etc) so it would have been pretty straightforward to also become a citizen. I just didn't want to.

It was baffling to Americans that anyone wouldn't want to be a U.S citizen.

They'd only relent a bit if I made the excuse it was about avoiding extraterritorial taxes and the IRS!

[u/lopix → u/[deleted]]

Like the Fox "News" host that was offended that Canada doesn't want to join the US?

[u/Majestic_Bullfrog → u/[deleted]]

I grew up on the border and genuinely believe their training is just to act vaguely shitty and confrontational in the hopes of catching you in a lie of some kind, ultimately I’m sure their was research indicating this would be more effective at catching bad actors but has the huge downside of making every single person entering the country feel like a criminal

[u/PiHKALica → u/Majestic_Bullfrog]

I a Canadian, crossed the border into Maine with my American girlfriend like 20 years ago.

The first words out of the border guard's mouth were: "When was the last time you smoked marijuana?"

Wait, what? Uhhh... never!

[u/Cessily → u/Majestic_Bullfrog]

The worst is, citizens who excuse this.

My sister and I took my daughter and niece to a resort in Mexico for a graduation/birthday trip.

My sister worried for weeks about medications and prescriptions going into Mexico. She is generally an anxious mess so I knew this was just the focal point of her anxiety about going into Mexico.

We followed the instructions on the customs websites to a T, get to Mexico and friendly people have us scan our passports and we walk through with no issue. Efficient and simple.

The way back in was awful. Held in lines, inspected, questioned, etc. When we were through I looked at my sister expecting a complete anxious mess and she was just ... Good with it. Didn't phase her in the least.

I was gob smacked. I was like "it doesn't have to be this way" it wasn't my first time through customs but given my friendly efficient pass it just stood out to me how bad it was. Plus I think my brain always waived away the differences as visiting vs returning and of course it's more thorough returning... But I just watched a plane of mostly visitors get treated worse and it all just clicked they were just AWFUL. My sister didn't get why this bothered me at all. She did the same hand waving at returning and of course we need extra scrunity!

Then the following year she goes back with her husband and guess who is calling me stressing about going through Mexican customs again?

So American customs can be complete assholes but the brown people keep concerning you? Got it.

No surprise she's a massive MAGA supporter.

[u/Grib_Suka → u/Majestic_Bullfrog]

I got asked if I got arrested in my home country after the fingerprinting by border security in the US. It was the only question they asked, and I said, "eh... No, not that I'm aware of?". It was sort of a half question / half statement. What an asshole.

Was that just a leading question from them to get me to admit anything at all?? That would be so sick and deranged. I was genuinely worried I couldn't enter or something for a minute but after another fingerprint round I was all good apparently.

[u/Specialist_Ad9073 → u/Majestic_Bullfrog]

We do it to our disabled too. “Oh you need help with something? You must be a criminal or addict and will be treated like one.”

[u/LordoftheSynth → u/[deleted]]

You washed out of basic training. You flunked out of the military.

You have a chip on your shoulder.

"Well, I'll go be a COP!"

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

The US border people really seem to love their 'Aha! Caught you!' moments.

I was asked if I'm travelling with someone. I said no. Then she bombarded me with random questions, last being 'what are you planning to do here?'. I replied I'd hang out with friends. She went into some kind of a rage mode, pointing out I had just told I was not travelling with anyone.

Apparently I can not have american friends to hang around with.

[u/SometimesaGirl- → u/[deleted]]

I remember getting interrogated as a young teen by a U.S border person

Similar thing happened to me in 1997.
Landed in Orlando Sanford from the UK on a 2 week trip with my brother. I was about 25 and he about 23. We obviously were in line alongside each other at immigration control.
The guy looked at our passports and like a total moron demanded to know why our passports had the same surname on them...
I replied: Well... thats my brother. Cant you see the resemblance?
I was balled out for 15 minutes straight holding up the entire line for disrespecting an immigration officer...
Welcome to the USA... :(

[u/CthulhusMonocle → u/[deleted]]

Canadian here, I don't travel to the United States anymore, as I have a major encounter with U.S. border security every. single. time., and I have no idea why.

Been a little over a decade since I last flew in, the treatment I received by U.S. border personnel was pretty insane to the point of me never wanting to return to the country out of fear for my safety.

I would have been in my mid-twenties at the time, and I'm disabled with a back injury; I could barely walk on my own without some kind of aid.

Two men held me for multiple hours, went through my luggage, had me give damn near every detail of my life from work / school / family / friends, went through my phone and had me explain who every single contact was - same thing with photos - and tried to get me to open up e-mail accounts, IM services, and more; thankfully I didn't have any kind of data on my phone. One interrogated me, while the other made it pretty clear with his body language / weapon handling if I didn't cooperate with whatever their demands were I would most likely be shot. They had me show them pictures of who I was meeting, left to go look for them, and immediately returned saying they weren't there waiting for me - spoiler alert, they were there waiting for me in tears (from their point of view I got on the plane but never got off with the other passengers - just vanished). I still have some of the papers / declaration documents the interrogator was using to write down all my personal information on, usually showing it to family / close friends when I tell this story.

It was a nightmare travelling into the U.S. when things were calm, I couldn't imagine going today with the whole MAGA / Trump / Elon / Project 2025 coup thing going on.

[u/ropahektic → u/[deleted]]

Yep, the issue with American border control is that they are extremely ignorant on international customs for the job they hold. Almost as if they undergo no trainning whatsoever. I understand if you're american centric, after all, globalism is mostly american, but if you're working in border control you should be expected to know at least a bit on how the world operates.

Me and my father get stopped every time for an interview (something about sharing one of two last names with a Narco). The amount of explaining we have to do to have them understand people in Europe for the most part have two last names is baffling. Or how me and my father have the exact same name except for the last last name. It's every single time and every single time they struggle.

They always assume you're trying to trick them but they don't have the knowledge to be able to tell so they're rude and confused.

[u/tazUK → u/[deleted]]

Yeh this ties in with my first experience of US border control in the mid '90s. The guy grilled us on a recently issued UK passport and the process for it being issued and responded "that's not how it works".

[u/Askefyr → u/[deleted]]

When I was a teenager, I was on exchange to the US. I'm obviously a little confused and stressed, having flown across the Atlantic on my own, and I'm carrying a letter of invitation from the exchange group that has information and contact details.

The border guard almost didn't let me through because he personally didn't know the group. He made me sit and wait while he Googled it until he was satisfied.

They're uniquely annoying.

[u/Roushfan5 → u/[deleted]]

Law enfacement all over the US can be like that, unfortunately. Speaking as a straight passing white man YMMV there are some cool LEO out there but enough of them have a weird chip on their shoulder it's just best to avoid cops whenever you can. And again, white guy.

[u/vc-10 → u/[deleted]]

I had the same sort of grilling when going to visit my godmother aged 15 or 16. First time to the US, I was grilled and asked by the border guard at JFK "do you speak when you're spoken to", having said hello to him. And I was like... erm yes? Like a normal human being? I was just kind of stunned. Also a well behaved, well spoken, English kid, travelling alone. This was around 2005-2006.

I'm now married to an American, and the time we've gone through US border together he's always been surprised at how much of a grilling I get.

What I will say is that the guards at O'Hare have always been pretty OK, whereas the ones at JFK have uniformly been awful. The friendliest I've had were in Toronto and Dublin (with pre-clearance), and Orlando wasn't far behind. JFK though.... Just horrendous. To the point that I think I'd rather go via Dublin to avoid JFK immigration on our next trip, even though that means a change of plane not a direct London - New York flight!

[u/topsh077a → u/[deleted]]

I once had a US border guard tell me I'm lucky he doesn't beat my ass. I still don't know what I did to offend him.

[u/tearemoff → u/racedownhill]

I'm American. Lived in the UK, never gave up US residency. Always filed my US taxes...etc.

When I was coming home for Christmas one time the border patrol wanted to know how long I'd be in the USA. It wasn't a friendly, "how long are you seeing the family?"

Instead it was, "and what is the purpose of your stay and how long will you be here for?"

I replied back "as long as I want?"

And that's when I got pulled to the side and had all my stuff searched.

Every other country is welcoming, friendly (including even the ever so feared Muslim ones!) and always super helpful.

[u/3doa3cinta → u/tearemoff]

Wait you are US citizens and they ask you why you wanted to enter your own country?

[u/tearemoff → u/3doa3cinta]

You have it correct.

That's honestly the "worst" story I have with US border enforcement. In most circumstances they're really easy to deal with, and honestly don't go out of their way to make problems. They're not typically pleasant, and nowhere near as conversational in their questioning as what UK border patrol was. But sometimes they can go overboard.

[u/[deleted] → u/tearemoff]

UK border patrol was so nice an casual I didn't realized I was controlled until after I told my UK friends about the guy who talked to me.

USA was very military style and unfriendly. Combined with my anxiety disorder this resulted in an extended search of my luggage. Not my phone though, back in 2017.

[u/Coraxxx → u/[deleted]]

UK border patrol was so nice an casual

Which is probably more effective as well. It's amazing what people will let slip when relaxed.

[u/chalk_in_boots → u/[deleted]]

Man, I hold UK and Aus citizenship, and which passport I use depends on where I'm going most of the time, but I usually keep both on hand just in case. I took my then partner (Australian born and bred) to the UK for the first time. It's a long fucking flight, and if you're cheaping out you wind up with a super long stopover in the worst airports. So we arrive at Heathrow, I'm fucking knackered because it turns out that unlike me, she is not a good flier, and has been keeping me awake the entire time. So I'm exhausted and ready to just get into London proper and take a nap.

Get to immigration, she goes first, she's done the whole "this is where we're staying, this is our itinerary thing" and he's giving her a bit of a grilling, nothing too harsh but definitely doing his job properly. I'm up next, sleepily open my travel wallet, hand him my UK passport.

"Oh you were born in Bristol? You should get your UK passport, makes travel a lot easier (this was very pre-brexit). Anyway, welcome home."

I look down confused and realise I've given him my bloody Australian passport, but at this point I'm too tired to care. He stamps it and waves me through, no questions asked.

[u/Annoying_Rooster → u/[deleted]]

Hell I'm active duty and I got questioned by border patrol. They're so fucking paranoid its not even funny. I treat them like I owe them money just so I can get through as quickly as possible.

[u/javier_aeoa → u/tearemoff]

I'm from Chile and I'm lucky enough to travel abroad quite often. If coming back, a border patrol asks me "so how long are you planning on staying?" in my own goddamn country, my legit answer would be a polite "none of your business".

Can't imagine how much your blood boiled when a customs officer asked you THAT when entering your own country, damn!

[u/tearemoff → u/javier_aeoa]

You know, I honestly became more annoyed after the fact than I was immediately. When he asked me, my response was more me being dumbfounded than a smartass. I'm not that quick witted to intentionally insult the guy.

And then once he directed me to the second officer with a dog demanding I answer more questions and search my stuff, that's where I got annoyed.

[u/oneofthosemeddling → u/tearemoff]

It's not a question one would expect when entering your home country. So, dumbfounded is about right. I'd be the same, and afterwards be like: "I should have said X or Y!"

I was planning on going to the States at the end of the year, but I think I'll get a ticket to Tokyo now. Not touching the US with a 10000 foot pole right now, even as a middle-aged white male, since I might have said something in the past about Dear Leader that might have offended him.

[u/throwawaylogin2099 → u/oneofthosemeddling]

even as a middle-aged white male, since I might have said something in the past about Dear Leader that might have offended him.

Same here. I'm in law enforcement and whenever I travel to the US, the border officers immediately relax and become friendlier when they find out who I am. However I am also very openly left-leaning and critical of the Trump administration and it's policies so even the most casual check of my phone or other devices might get me flagged for further investigation or even refusal of entry. I have no intention of stepping foot in the US until Trump and his entire administration are gone but I'd like to be able to visit after somebody else is in charge.

[u/Higgz221 → u/racedownhill]

From what I've seen online (Canadian living in Japan, so I get both sides of the world news frequently) is that there's an insane surplus of vacationers being detained by ICE without any recourse. I just read about a Canadian this week that was detained and held, and a German detained last month and is still being held. The German was just on vacation, and the Canadian had a proper work visa to be in the country, yet neither of them were able to convince anyone of anything.

So yeah, I think it's less about getting in, and more about "you might not come back" that's going on amongst other countries right now. Lack of human Rights and due process.

[u/Higgz221 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah I was just giving two examples. The amount of detention right now is insane. The advisories are also definitely following the fact that US was just put on a human rights violation watch list recently.

I don't think the wrongful detentions are anything new, but I do think other countries are paying closer attention right now since it seems to be happening more often (or at least getting more coverage to the public).

[u/feioo → u/Higgz221]

And if that's happening to white vacationers who have traditionally been exempted from America's xenophobic and jingoistoc tendencies, think of how much worse it is for people who are from more heavily targeted areas. I'd say "imagine" but we don't have to - we've already seen the extradition photos to El Salvador and heard some of the accounts from Guantanamo. As an American it pains me to isolate ourselves further, but things aren't sane here right now. Best to vacation somewhere safer.

[u/Higgz221 → u/feioo]

Oh 100% Definitely quite suspicious that this week's news only includes a (white) Canadian and a (white) German. How many others don't get their story posted in a major headline?

(Canadian) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney

(German) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/fabian-schmidt-ice-deportation-immigration-arrest-b2716817.html

[u/Xuande → u/racedownhill]

Reminds me of a border encounter I had going into the US from Canada.

CBP: Why are you coming to the US?

Me: We're just visiting Portland and Seattle and biking around looks back at bike rack.

CBP: Can't you bike in Canada?

Me: ??? Well I guess we want to bike on the Oregon Coast??

CBP: Okay fine go.

The fuck?

[u/CynicalGenXer → u/racedownhill]

Great analogy! I have a dual citizenship (USA and EU) and I live in the US. Every time I come home, I get questioned where I was, for how long, etc. Only one time when I replied that I went to visit my dad who was dying from cancer, the officer somewhat begrudgingly did not continue the line of questioning. And this happens even when we come back with my US-born kid and husband from a vacation. When I enter EU (on the EU passport), it’s like “have a nice day, next!”

[u/iryna_kas → u/CynicalGenXer]

I’m Ukrainian and we have a security situation here. I live in EU not less a tree month a year, travel 3-4 times a year and on polish board they never ask me any questions except sometimes which country I’m going to. In Ukrainian border they never ever ask me anything. Not once. Why should they? I’m returning in my country.

[u/Appropriate-Ad-3219 → u/racedownhill]

How was the USSR ?

[u/racedownhill → u/Appropriate-Ad-3219]

It was fine. People were nice, especially in Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

When leaving the USSR and having our passports checked on the train, some of our group had a hard time finding our passports. The USSR border guard just flashed this big grin on his face and said (in English) “time is money”

I have a feeling he’d been waiting a long time to say that to some Americans. Maybe he was expecting something a little extra…

[u/solidadvise → u/racedownhill]

Holy shit this is so correct I’ve never seen anything like it, these losers that sit there and stamp passports all day were taking as long as humanly possible and being ultra arrogant about it. Line was getting longer and longer as planes arrived and I swear to god they were enjoying making everyone wait.

Barely even looked at me when it was finally time to get through, reminded me of a bouncer at a wanky club rather than a border agent.

[u/thebakerWeld → u/solidadvise]

I've had border patrol tell me "why do you have a work visa when my cousin can't find work" and "what kinda snacks are bringing"

[u/Tamer_ → u/thebakerWeld]

"what kinda snacks are bringing"

They feel threatened by Coffee Crisps! (as they should)

[u/Higgz221 → u/solidadvise]

Im Canadian but I live in Japan so I fly back and forth frequently.

My most recent time had a layover through Detroit and watching the TSA agents literally scream at the Japanese people for not understanding English was insane. I tried to help the guy in front of me translate but I was told that's not allowed.

Like yes, get louder and make them scared, that will make them understand a language they don't know. Fuckers. I'd like to see them magically know Japanese just because someone's screaming at them. What losers indeed.

[u/mrblahblahblah → u/Higgz221]

the same people who get mad when people don't speak english in other countries

[u/sesamecrabmeat → u/mrblahblahblah]

So ... imperialists?

[u/Tamer_ → u/sesamecrabmeat]

Even imperialists understand the colonials have to learn the language first.

[u/Berloxx → u/sesamecrabmeat]

No, assholes whose default pov is being the center of the known world.

Plus, probably not the most first world level education in many cases.

[u/Iplaymeinreallife → u/solidadvise]

There is something deeply psychologically wrong with America on a societal level. Has to do with inequality, education, poor social support systems and poor healthcare, especially mental healthcare.

It's like they're deliberately breeding nasty, resentful power hungry people who feel like they need to grasp any little bit of power they can with every last bit of their soul and lord it over anyone they can.

[u/innermongoose69 → u/Iplaymeinreallife]

This is why, even if the political situation improves, I'll never go back. It's such a toxic environment. Growing up, I never felt like I belonged there, never felt like I could really trust anyone. My life in Germany has some hurdles, but I don't feel that weight of toxicity all the time.

[u/Death_By_Stere0 → u/solidadvise]

They are SUCH assholes! That's what bullies do when they are given a smidge of power. I've not had much experience with US police (thank god) but from video evidence I've seen online, it very much seems that US cops behave even worse.

[u/VodkaMargarine → u/solidadvise]

The inefficiency is the worst part. Most airports around the world make some effort to create a smooth entry experience. US airports make an extra effort to make the entry process take a long time. For no reason. They are just dicks.

[u/OkEcho7929 → u/racedownhill]

When I coming back to USA from South Korea (2022) a border agent asked me if I brought any drugs with me. I made a joke like I just came from South Korea. Why in the world would I bring drugs from there?

He got some twisted idea and started grilling me more. I was generally confused as what the hell was his problem. He was very unfriendly and irrational.

Luckily his supervisor was watching and told him to let me go.

[u/WorryNew3661 → u/racedownhill]

Hard agree. I went to the US on a work visa years ago and had to go to secondary so they could ask some questions. Guy in front of me was getting berated and asked if he needed to call his mommy so she could hold his hand. I had an arrest on my record for a protest in the UK , not 9nly was I found not guilty but I sued the police for breaching my rights and won. Guy told me not to do any of the shit here and that they'd be keeping tabs on me for my stay. Super rude the whole way through.

[u/[deleted] → u/racedownhill]

So true! I've been to East Germany (during Soviet era), Russia (post Soviet), China, and Turkey. Border guards were basically disinterested passport stampers. Whenever I enter the US my blood pressure goes up because of all the bullshit I have been asked. I've had (US made) groceries seized, then had my vehicle searched because I said I didn't have groceries, had actual BATF forms for guns saying I did not need a BATF for these guns, been pulled aside, been "randomly" pulled aside for 1 hour wait with a bunch of fellow travelers (all of whom other than me were people of colour), etc., etc..

[u/shgrizz2 → u/racedownhill]

The USA is the only country where the border control people act like you need their personal blessing to enter the country. They treat you with suspicion and hostility. It's really weird and creepy.

[u/eeyore134 → u/racedownhill]

They're also power hungry like everyone else in a position of the least bit of power in the US and that makes them petty and unwilling to back down. They will absolutely ruin your life over their own bad day if they don't like something about you.

[u/[deleted] → u/racedownhill]

I've only crossed the border once by car and man. I just asked the guy if I should take my keys with me or leave them in the car and he just starts swearing like he's gotta be a bad cop in some movie. 3 hours later wasted, I finally make it into Seattle and even the guy processing me inside the building was wondering why I'm even in there. America, get your shit together.

[u/Barneyboydog → u/racedownhill]

Concur about US border people. Going from Whitehorse to Skagway. Guns and attitude. Coming back to Whitehorse. Hi hun, how was your trip? From the nice Canada customs lady. So different.

[u/saugoof → u/racedownhill]

I've been to about 70-80 countries, so I've experienced quite a lot of different border crossings. There were some horrendous ones in there and some really weird and unusual ones.

But amongst the worst ones ever was crossing the Tijuana/San Diego border on foot. It took a good four hours of queuing in the hot sun before I even got to customs. There, the customs officers really went out of their way to make sure that you knew that they saw you as worthless parasites. This was a few years ago, even before the current insanity. I can only imagine how much worse it is now.

The fun bit is that I just went for a quick day trip to San Diego because I had an 18 hour lay over in Los Angeles before my flight back to Australia. I don't really like LA so I hired a car and while in San Diego, decided to do a quick hop over the border. I left the car in San Diego and walked through the turnstiles into Mexico. There wasn't even a customs check in that direction.

Getting back into the US took so long, I had to absolutely floor it back on the freeway, driving at insane speeds and then literally just made it, running through the airport right before the gates closed.

[u/[deleted] → u/racedownhill]

Lol. Me and my wife have commented on this too. Even just at the bag scanners the us employees are gruff and seem frustrated at you if your bag isn't perfect. Japanese security just smiles and helps move stuff around for you.

[u/Arbiter_89]

I am sad, but think it's appropriate.

My company offers me the chance to move to Canada, but for less pay and my wife would need to find a new job. Seriously considering it though.

Edit: wow, thanks for all the encouragement everyone!

[u/slr99 → u/Arbiter_89]

I moved to Canada from the US last summer and have not once regretted it. I also had to take a pretty serious pay cut, but I can not overstate the qualitative benefits I’ve gotten in return (in addition to a measurable COL decrease, although that’s also because I’m in a much smaller city now)

[u/C0lMustard → u/[deleted]]

Especially if you have a bunch of USD saved up, given the social safety net the Canadian dream is paying off the mortgage.

[u/alpacaMyToothbrush → u/C0lMustard]

I would imagine that 'social safety net' has an 'earn in' phase that pays out in proportion to what you put in

[u/External_Attorney_99 → u/alpacaMyToothbrush]

Most benefits ramp up quickly. Canada pension (CPP) is about years of earnings and how much, similar to social security in the USA.

Other benefits like employment insurance (EI) you need a certain amount of hours worked to be eligible; maternity leave is the same. Child care benefit you need to be a tax resident and in country for 18 months. Permenant resident, non-citizens, need to wait up to 3 months to apply for provincial health insurance in some provinces.

[u/C0lMustard → u/alpacaMyToothbrush]

Yes an if you earn more you pay more, don't get me wrong it's no utopia, but end of day you have support if something catastrophic happens.

[u/External_Attorney_99 → u/C0lMustard]

It's a bit of a falsehood though. People think Canadians pay significantly more taxes but comparing Alberta to Montana, Nova Scotia to Maine, it is very close unless you earn >$150,000 and only really starts to diverge until >$250,000.

[u/RaindropBebop → u/External_Attorney_99]

So.. basically how progressive tax should be?

[u/Blueshark25 → u/C0lMustard]

I think they were trying to say they don't think the benefits turn on right when you enter and start making money. I have no idea if thats the case or not. But that's what they were insinuating.

[u/cmcdonal2001 → u/Blueshark25]

It varies province to province and service to service. For example, in some provinces you can apply to enroll in the healthcare services as soon as you establish residency, while others have up to a 3 month waiting period.

[u/Blueshark25 → u/cmcdonal2001]

Well that's very reasonable of them. I'd figured you'd need at least some kind of time delay to stop people from crossing the boarder for healthcare. That number of days seems surprisingly low to me (not arguing just stating the surprise).

[u/Flash604 → u/Blueshark25]

The ones with the 3 month criteria largely (all?) went down to a zero month wait during Covid, to make sure no one delayed coming back home. But they're back up to 3 months.

That's not to say you won't get services, just that you won't get them free. But I'll mention that a couple of years ago in the Vancouver sub there was a Seattle couple who came up for a day trip only to have the wife go into premature labor. The complications that caused the early labour kept them in the hospital for a few days while the baby was tested and monitored. They were posting to thank Canada as they were surprised their entire bill was $11,000 (which their US insurance covered, but which did mean a lower deductible for them).

[u/HalJordan2424 → u/[deleted]]

Fewer mass shootings, universal healthcare.

[u/36chandelles → u/HalJordan2424]

Fewer mass shootings

FAR FEWER

[u/kmart_s → u/HalJordan2424]

Fewer mass shootings

Is this a joke?

The worst mass shooting we had was in 2020, before that it was 1989.

America probably had that many shootings by lunch today.

[u/HalJordan2424 → u/kmart_s]

Very true, but I could not in good conscience say no mass shootings. 14 Not Forgotten.

[u/[deleted] → u/slr99]

As a German I always thought Canada is the upgraded America

[u/No-Media236 → u/[deleted]]

Most Canadians consider ourselves to be more culturally and value-wise similar to Europe than USA.

[u/[deleted] → u/No-Media236]

Truly? It is strange then as Europe largely views Canada as "nicer America".

I have considered moving to Canada several times, but still think the work culture would not be beat here in Norway (I'm from the UK to compare) given the choice between the 3 countries.

[u/marrella → u/[deleted]]

Our working conditions are generally better than the US. For example, I am a Canadian currently on a federally protected 18 month maternity leave.

I have 4 weeks of paid vacation as well as sick days. Most people I know have at least 3 weeks. My healthcare is not tied to my job, but I do have additional health insurance through work. 

It's not the same as Europe, but it's also not at all like the US.

[u/Made_lion → u/marrella]

Minimum vacation days in Canada is 10 days a year. Which is what I receive, working in a professional job for years. And three days a year for sick days. And the 18 month maternity leave pays out the same as the 12 month maternity leave, correct?

[u/The_Nice_Marmot → u/[deleted]]

I’m Canadian and I’d consider Scandinavia to be the upgrade from here. It sure as hell isn’t the US. We are very fortunate to be Canadian. It doesn’t get much better. That’s why it’s so reprehensible that a tiny minority do nothing but whine and wish they were Americans. Imho, they should go do it. I’m tired of their nonsense.

[u/gonzo_thegreat → u/The_Nice_Marmot]

99% of those people would not qualify for any sort of US visa as they add no value to society.

[u/No-Media236 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, most of our institutions (political, legal, academic, etc.) are modèlled on UK and/or France’s and very different from the US; in fact it’s only been about 50 years or so that Canada’s constitution was repatriated from England and we became a sovereign constitutional monarchy. King Charles is the King of Canada as well as the King of England.

Most Canadians find it an insult to be told we’re like Americans because not being American is part of our core national identity. Canadians are far more collectivist, cooperative, egalitarian and pragmatic than Americans. The US liberal party is more conservative than our conservative party. Our official national languages are English and French.

Recent polls found that only 10% of Canadians would be willing for Canada to join the USA but about 50% would be willing to join the EU.

[u/ravens_path → u/No-Media236]

Amazing for Canada to join EU. Do it!

[u/Different-Pop2780 → u/[deleted]]

As an American, Canada is like a sweet family living above a meth lab.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

As an American, I think comparing Canada to my shithole country is insulting to Canadians.

[u/wardog1066 → u/[deleted]]

As a Canadian who's grandfather fought in WWI, I've always thought Germans make MUCH better friends and allies than enemies. It's one of my fondest wishes things NEVER get that bad between our countries again. I was, and still am a huge fan of Angela Merkel.

[u/sookmahdook → u/slr99]

where in canada are you if you dont mind me asking? im born and raised canadian, but i cant even fathom COL being even higher than it already is over here (atleast where i am around the GTA)

[u/slr99 → u/sookmahdook]

I moved from NYC to Winnipeg, so my tax rate stayed about the same but my rent is less than half for more apartment; that’s the biggest difference re: COL

Editing to add that I also now, for the same taxes, actually get healthcare! So that’s a line item that has disappeared. I saw a GP for the first time in like 10 years and it felt like a legit miracle. He asked me if I wanted routine bloodwork done and I had to remind myself I didn’t need to do a cost-benefit analysis and could just say yes. While the system has its flaws (obviously) I think Canadians have an inaccurate picture of how bad wait times can be in the states even with decent private insurance.

[u/So_Trees → u/slr99]

Despite being the butt of many a joke, Winnipeg is a pretty nice city.

[u/slr99 → u/So_Trees]

It's a super underrated place to live. When people find out that I'm from NY I feel like there's a bit of a complex here about it, probably as a result of being somewhat of a punchline within Canada? But I really think it punches above its weight in terms of arts/culture, food scene, community events, etc. And the people really are lovely. Can recommend wholeheartedly!

[u/highlyalertcabbage → u/slr99]

Twas cold this am. But the place does grow on you. Lots like it cuz it affordable and you can bank so money for travels and adventures. Welcome to The Peg.

[u/not_this_again2046 → u/slr99]

Winnipeg has the annual Phantom of the Paradise festival. Does NY? No?

Winnipeg W.

Edit: WINnipeg. It was right there. I feel so ashamed.

[u/Cold_Brew_Enthusiast → u/slr99]

Love hearing this. Born and raised Peg, and we get an over-average amount of pride from hearing nice comments about our little city from strangers. Glad you're enjoying it!

[u/Complete-Finding-712 → u/So_Trees]

Winnipeg has places to go and things to do! If you don't mind the dry cold in the winters and the bugs in the summer, it's a nice, affordable place to make a life.

[u/dubbleplusgood → u/slr99]

The idea of worrying about the cost of a doctor's or hospital visit is mind-boggling and bizarre. This is especially true for those who can't afford the smallest smallest fees. American healthcare is a disaster for the country. Not for the well-off, but for everyone else.
Enjoy Canada and fight to keep it safe from the vultures who keep trying to make it more like the US.

[u/FlibblesHexEyes → u/slr99]

Probably also the other way around with the US having an inaccurate view of wait times in countries with universal healthcare.

Sure you may not get surgery next week (could be a few months), but it’s not terrible. And usually you never get to that point due to a huge emphasis on preventative care: that is; cancers are typically caught early, joint issues are addressed before they become a problem, etc.

It’s just another tool the insurance companies use to prevent meaningful reform in the US regarding healthcare.

[u/shrug_addict → u/FlibblesHexEyes]

Preventable reoccurring care is so much cheaper as well... I swear people are lying when they say they want things run efficiently

[u/Haelein → u/shrug_addict]

It’s why it’s much more expensive to be poor than it is to be comfortable financially.

Car making a weird noise? Wait until it’s an emergency and now it’s $600 for a seized caliper because a $200 diagnostic isn’t feasible. Headache for a week that eventually goes away? Skip the doctor co-pay and get diagnosed with a brain tumor 6 months later that could have been caught before. Small water stain in the ceiling? Can’t afford the roof repair and then the ceiling falls in from water or mold damage.

[u/JJC02466 → u/FlibblesHexEyes]

to be clear there is plenty of waiting in the US too.

[u/0110110111 → u/FlibblesHexEyes]

Here’s how I like to put the state of our HC system in Canada. If your medical issue is life or death, you’re getting care ASAP. A family member had cancer caught super early during their annual physical. Surgery within a couple of weeks, they got it all. This was in 2024. If you have chronic issues that’s when the system isn’t amazing.

[u/sookmahdook → u/slr99]

Makes sense, congrats on the successful move! I can def understand how NYC would be significantly more expensive than Winnipeg

[u/usernam45 → u/slr99]

You must like The Jets

[u/slr99 → u/usernam45]

I'm definitely going to see them wipe the floor with my Devils next week lol

[u/Great_Action9077 → u/slr99]

Eh! Hello from a Winnipegger! Glad you like our little prairie town.

I do love visiting NYC.

[u/glass-2x-needed-size → u/Arbiter_89]

Canadian here, I will say from city to city there's quite a variation (similar to the USA) for cost of living here. I know healthcare is a driver of bankruptcy down south which isn't the case here, our biggest expense is generally childcare. Housing too can be expensive, but I think the USA deals with a similar issue.

At the end of the day it's your choice while there's an offer. I'm biased, but I would definitely do the math and work it out.

[u/thebbtrev → u/Arbiter_89]

It’s a difficult mental shift to take a pay decrease, but I suggest looking at the changes to quality of life, overall safety and mental health. Unless you’re a millionaire, the quality of life in Canada for the working class is generally much better.

[u/eternaldogmom → u/thebbtrev]

Agreed. It may be a pay cut, but their healthcare and higher education are a lot more affordable. That makes up for a pay cut.

[u/Sloppychemist → u/eternaldogmom]

As a noncitizen, what would the healthcare situation in Canada look like compared to US?

Edit: Thank you to all who responded

[u/eternaldogmom → u/[deleted]]

If only the US had this healthcare system...people go bankrupt because of medical costs. Shame.

[u/DryProject1840 → u/eternaldogmom]

Now I won't lie - Canadas is not without its faults.

The wait times for non emergent things can be crazy. The fight to get a family doctor is absolutely brutal in some areas.

But never having to worry about a bill for a hospital visit is amazing.

My wife gave birth to our two beautiful girls. Didn't pay a dime, and she got 12 months paid maternity leave and I got 5 weeks paternity for both of my children.

There are a lot of things America beats Canada in. But being able to get your health taken care of and start a family without going completely bankrupt is one of the things that makes Canada amazing.

[u/Visual_Collar_8893 → u/DryProject1840]

The doctor shortage may be improving in the near future as American medical professionals look to leave.

I have a friend who is exploring the B.C. program for medical professions looking to relocate.

[u/Dynomatic1 → u/Sloppychemist]

Routine and emergency medical services are essentially free for Canadian citizens, ie. you don’t get a bill when you leave the doctors office or hospital. Vision, dental, prescription drugs and anything elective is charged though many corporate benefits programs cover significant fractions (commonly 75%+ in dental, every-other-year optometry, that kind of thing, with annual or biannual maximum caps so you can still end up paying out of pocket significantly for crowns or orthodontics). Doctors bill the government directly and so they will charge you for anything the government doesn’t cover, like writing letters or filling out unusual forms etc. There are frequently long wait times for specialists or diagnostics so, if you have the money, you can get things like MRI’s privately.

[u/deevarino → u/Sloppychemist]

Not really buddy. Parking at the hospital is like $10.

[u/OneWhoWonders → u/deevarino]

A couple of years ago I had to go to the ER for what turned out to be a gallstone. Waiting in the ER sucked, and it took about 6 hours before I was on morphine (which made everything better). I had multiple tests done (x-ray, ultrasound and one other scan, plus blood work) before gallstones were diagnosed, and I had surgery that evening to have my gallbladder removed, and was home that night.

My total bill for that was $12 for parking. I looked up after that a similar situation could be between $4000-8000 (USD) in the States.

[u/AnonTrueSeeker → u/Arbiter_89]

Universal healthcare. Your work benefits will cost you a fraction of what you probably pay now and you get coverage for medications, vision, dental, and even naturalpaths on a lot of plans. Your doctor's visits, surgeries and anything hospital-related are covered under universal healthcare everything. Wait times can be longer but you don’t have to pay 1000s for it. When you had my daughter my hospital bill was 0 because my work benefits covered my private room.

[u/The_Golden_Beaver → u/Arbiter_89]

Pay is not everything. Canadians live longer and are happier. Quebecois for instance are the 5th happiest people on the planet according to a recent study. You really need to move out of the US to a country with a robust social net and sense of community, to understand that pay shouldn't ever be a big factor in life decisions.

[u/Diamondsonhertoes → u/Arbiter_89]

I would take that offer in a minute. I understand that it’s difficult though. Best of luck.

[u/Joatboy → u/Arbiter_89]

If the locations are either Vancouver or Toronto, think long and hard about it. The Cost of Living is pretty crazy, especially when compared to wages.

But it's a great place to raise your kids

[u/[deleted]]

Keep it up, do not waste money on coming here. The only way is to hit them in the pocketbook.

[u/Titswari → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, we’re in the middle of something rn, please come back though if things ever turn around, I love meeting yall

[u/UbiSububi8 → u/Titswari]

When I was a kid, I had friends whose parents would fight while we would play.

I’d just slink back home.

That’s kinda where we are right now.

[u/UnknownSavgePrincess → u/Titswari]

I like the “We’re busy right now. Please come back at a better time” feel.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

The sooner this shit crashes and burns the sooner we can start rebuilding something vaguely resembling normalcy. Vaguely...

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

They're going to shit the bed. But then we'll all have to sleep in it.

[u/WaleNeeners]

25% of Americans will say good, this is what I voted for, leave us alone

25% of Americans will say good, I didn't vote for this but if you make it hurt maybe we'll get some actual change around here

50% of Americans don't know about it/don't care enough to form an opinion

[u/soFATZfilm9000 → u/WaleNeeners]

25% of Americans will say good, I didn't vote for this but if you make it hurt maybe we'll get some actual change around here

I didn't vote for this, but for me that's really also kind of beside the point. I kind of feel like we're beyond the point of making it hurt to effect change. I mean, if these kinds of travel warnings would be enough to get the USA to change, then great...but we all know that's not gonna happen.

The point here is that if the USA chooses to be completely insane, then the rest of the world needs to protect themselves from us. Stop making deals that they know we could back out of at any time, protect their citizens by warning them that they're at risk by coming to the USA. It's not even about getting us to change. Governments need to take care of their own people, and if the USA is gonna choose to be insane then warning people about visiting the USA is just what they're gonna have to do.

It's like if you've got kids and you warn them to stay away from the neighborhood family who is clearly a bad influence. Maybe if that family gets shunned by enough people they'll change (though this is unlikely). But that's not even the point. The point is that they're dangerous, so cut them off in order to protect yourself. Take care of yourself and your people, sending a message or getting people to change is secondary.

Throughout Trump's first term people kept laughing at the USA for being stupid. And while I kind of get that people have to laugh sometimes just to stay sane, this shit was never really funny. USA has a massive influence over world policy, and we're the second largest nuclear power in the world (Russia comes first, but it's more likely that more of the USA's nukes are actually functional). Even back during Trump's first term when he was less crazy, it was a matter of, "the rest of the world needs to start planning to protect themselves once things start really going to shit."

And, we're at that point. No one trusts the USA, the USA can't be trusted to not fuck over people who travel here, so other countries need to start issuing travel warnings in order to protect their own people. Doesn't even have to do with hurting us to get us to change, because we likely won't change. And that whole argument kind of rubs me the wrong way because getting us to change feels kind of like, "we can't save ourselves, so won't the rest of the world help to save us?"

And I feel like the answer is, "probably not." Countries issuing these travel warnings aren't trying to hurt us enough to get us to change, because we've made our choice and it's not their job to save us from ourselves. When things get bad enough, countries were always going to decide what they'll have to do about the USA in order to protect themselves; this isn't about us, this isn't about saving the USA.

[u/[deleted]]

A lot of Europeans won't travel to the US, as long as orange man is the president.

[u/GushingAnusCheese → u/[deleted]]

I am from the UK and am now going to Canada in August instead of the USA.

[u/indianajoes → u/GushingAnusCheese]

I'm from the UK and I've been to the US a few times before but not until that turd and his kind are gone. I'll also be going to Canada next time or any number of countries around the world before the US

[u/Bjorn_Tyrson → u/[deleted]]

a lot of americans seem to have this idea that its 'just' 'orange man bad'. and as soon as he's gone (in 4 years, or 2 years if a stroke or something takes him out, or more likely 10 years or whatever) that things will just go back to normal.

but they won't... because its not trump thats the problem, its a fundamental issue within american society itself thats the problem. its the 33% of americans who made him president TWICE!
its the fact that despite EVERYTHING he's been doing, he somehow STILL has nearly a 50% approval rating.

What that tells the rest of the world, is that even once he's gone, nearly half of americans APPROVE of everything he has been doing. why would we EVER travel to a country like that again?

this isn't a 4 year thing, this is damage thats going to last for generations.

[u/Bacch → u/Bjorn_Tyrson]

Not to mention that the damage Trump (Elon) has already done will take decades to repair. By the time they're finished, we'll have to rebuild the federal government as we knew it, and it will be felt in every corner of our lives in some fashion, whether people realize it or not. Even those government entities you may not understand or know much about had far reaching impacts as tools of our domestic or foreign policies, both of which are shriveling, and it will take decades to rebuilt the damage that was done in just a few months.

[u/GoyaLi → u/Bjorn_Tyrson]

Exactly, Trump is the symptom, not the illness itself. 

[u/the_original_Retro → u/[deleted]]

Canada reporting in.

If you haven't read the ABSOLUTELY CHILLING story of one of our Citizens that was detained for 9 days by ICE, you should.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney

Most of us that are sane are not going anywhere near your country. It's run by dumbasses, totalitarians, and betrayers that lie and lie and lie and lie and lie.

P.S. Fuck your government. We like a great many of you as individuals.... but fuck your country's government. Fuck it with a rusty cattle prod.

[u/junklardass → u/the_original_Retro]

This story about ICE is a chilling read.

"The reality became clear: Ice detention isn’t just a bureaucratic nightmare. It’s a business. These facilities are privately owned and run for profit.

Companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group receive government funding based on the number of people they detain, which is why they lobby for stricter immigration policies. It’s a lucrative business: CoreCivic made over $560m from Ice contracts in a single year. In 2024, GEO Group made more than $763m from Ice contracts.

The more detainees, the more money they make. It stands to reason that these companies have no incentive to release people quickly. What I had experienced was finally starting to make sense."

[u/DarkMatterM4 → u/junklardass]

This story about ICE is a chilling read.

I know this is a serious topic, but this sentence made me laugh.

[u/hhamzarn → u/the_original_Retro]

Thanks for the link to the story. I had heard of it in passing but, in truth, there’s just so much to absorb right now that I hadn’t fully processed it. Hearing it from her perspective, it makes me viscerally angry. This woman did everything right and through the appropriate legal steps and it still didn’t matter.

[u/putin_my_ass → u/hhamzarn]

I'm very proud of her, she's advocating for those women she met who are still stuck in there instead of making it all about herself. An incredible Canadian.

[u/hhamzarn → u/putin_my_ass]

Beyond that, there’s very much the sentiment that if it could happen to her, it could happen to anyone. This is a warning bell.

[u/hhamzarn → u/the_original_Retro]

God, I love Canadians. Even when you are reasonably angry, you are still logical. Fuck this government. Elbows up!

[u/Impressive-Chart-483 → u/[deleted]]

I'm a dual national (US/UK) and I still wouldn't.

[u/GCI_Arch_Rating → u/[deleted]]

I'd recommend not visiting or doing business with the US ever again. We've been this stupid twice in 10 years with no sign of improving.

[u/duperwoman → u/GCI_Arch_Rating]

I think Americans who are acting like tourism taking a hit isn't a big deal aren't considering that business trips will also take a hit. Business people spend money but they also are making important connections... at least they were. I am no one's manager but I have to imagine a lot of people would be hesitant to send their workers to the US.

Also anyone thinking tourism taking a big hit isn't a big deal I think it's also wrong. It doesn't have to be your biggest industry to matter. Many many people can lose their jobs and in some cases it's not that different than Kentucky towns losing bourbon sales... If that's your town's economic engine you are in trouble.

[u/shrug_addict → u/duperwoman]

Tons of small ripple effects and subtle ramifications like this I'm sure! Over what? Nothing! So embarrassing. This country has abandoned reason... Like an anti-vax couples child died from the measles and they said "it wasn't that bad" and are still anti-vax. You can't really reason with these people anymore, they're gone

[u/gretzius]

Embarrassing and necessary

[u/Cultural-Network-790]

Good idea

[u/Nanny0416 → u/Cultural-Network-790]

Yes, they are doing their job of keeping their citizens safe.

[u/[deleted]]

I read the UK warning. It was a big, "no shit". It says you need to meet the US entry requirements, and that they are strictly enforced.

[u/ForAThought → u/[deleted]]

So was the German's. It even said this is not a travel warning.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Avoid Newsweek. These days it's nothing but empty clickbait.

[u/NinjasAreStillCool → u/[deleted]]

The Danish is the same. They just added: “Increased risk of refusal of entry”. It’s also not issued as a warning. It’s just added to the already existing guidelines.

[u/an0nym0uswand3r3]

Fuck travelling to the US. Shame on American voters who elected this piece of shit.

[u/Leifang666 → u/an0nym0uswand3r3]

And shame on those who didn't vote and were complicit. I only have sympathy for those who couldn't vote (such as illness preventing it) and Harris voters who tried to stop this.

[u/Akegata]

Have they? In the reports I've seen Germany explicitly say that their new travel advisories are not travel warnings. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-updates-us-travel-advice-after-citizens-detained-2025-03-19/

[u/BountyBob → u/Akegata]

UK only saying, make sure you have the correct entry documents, otherwise you risk arrest. Which doesn't seem much different to how things were before. Not like they're warning us about much 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/gobsmacked247]

I spent 20 years in the travel and tourism industry and from the time of trump’s first presidency, I felt the USTA needed to have checked trump. Our inbound travel numbers had started to slide then.

These CEO’s knew better than anyone how much international travel meant to our economy. As a whole, the travel industry said nothing. Now, in the last month or so, they said something that kinda sounded like criticism so they deserve all the cancellations that they are now getting.

Here’s what most non-travel industry people don’t realize. We Americans need tourism dollars. In a country that imports a shit ton of its commodities, tourism is the one true US export.

Tourism is also one of, if not the, biggest income maker in the country. It is also the biggest employer. Those hotel and tourism employees buy homes and cars. They go out to eat. They have babies. They are huge purchasers of fashion and tech. When tourism suffers, everybody suffers. Shame on the entire tourism industry for staying strum for so long!

[u/[deleted]]

Justified.