Andrew Sullivan's had a few posts recently discussing what it's like to enter or exit these United States of Emergency as a tourist.
It's not pretty, and it's no small thing. Fewer and fewer tourists are making the States their vacation destination, specifically siting the rough reception they endure at the hands of U.S. Immigration and Homeland Security forces. And if you're the gay, fageddabout
From The Daily Dish:
It is by far the biggest change I have experienced in my quarter century living in America....Getting any kind of visa can be a nightmare of bureaucracy; being finger-printed and treated like a criminal is the first actual experience many foreigners have of entering the US, and the process of getting through customs and immigration can be, even in completely incident-free circumstances, frightening. My elderly mother arrived for my wedding and started sobbing in my arms after the rough treatment she had received from airport security....
New Zealand blogger detained for over a month because his departure from the US was six days past his visa expiration:
He still has no court date, hasn't even been formally arrested, is just held in detention. It sounds like he will be released and deported in a week or so - after six weeks detention.
This should be a wake up call for anyone visiting the US - be very very careful with your visa dates. The consequences can be dire.
But it also reflects badly on the US - there has to be a better way to handle immigration than this. I mean six weeks detention for a couple of days overdue - shocking.
The guy was leaving the country and they still harassed him.
There are more examples here and here
Looked at as a clutch of unfortunate but isolated incidents, all this might not seem like such a big deal. But in aggregate, it becomes part of larger pattern of American self-isolation, both politically and culturally, and it's a little disturbing. If things continue as they are, the US will be an armed fortress within a decade. Moated by a complex of militarized ports and fences, with the population kept detached and concealed behind a digital curtain of surveillance.
Way uncool.
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