If traveling to US, expect phone and laptops to be searched

[opieshuffle]

What date was your last crossing, and where??

Beginning of August 2025. I stick to the larger cities like Detroit. Honestly... I was shocked at how nice they were being.

And "Butler100"... anecdotal for sure. But just want to balance things out because I haven't heard of anyone in my circle being harassed either.
I'm sure being white is a part of it. Not gonna hide my privilege. And I only go to the US for work... not to spend my own money.

 

[Shaquille Oatmeal]

It's not that every birder guard is doing it. It's that there is no consistency in it.

This is exactly it.
The current administration's policies leaves a lot of things vague and one guard may not be the same as another.
They may simply be acting on their own political biases cloaked in procedure.

 

[bazokajoe]

This is exactly it.
The current administration's policies leaves a lot of things vague and one guard may not be the same as another.
They may simply be acting on their own political biases cloaked in procedure.

That applies to every international border not just the US border.

 

[Shaquille Oatmeal]

That applies to every international border not just the US border.

No it doesn't.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

No it doesn't

Maybe not every country, but in many thats the case:

Grok

Grok is a free AI assistant designed by xAI to maximize truth and objectivity. Grok offers real-time search, image generation, trend analysis, and more.

grok.com

 

[bazokajoe]

No it doesn't.

So naive.

 

[Shaquille Oatmeal]

Maybe not every country, but in many thats the case:

Grok

Grok is a free AI assistant designed by xAI to maximize truth and objectivity. Grok offers real-time search, image generation, trend analysis, and more.

grok.com

So naive.

There is a procedure in these cases.
Not vague, inconsistent searches based on whether you like their President or not.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

There is a procedure in these cases

And what's the procedure in China if they find something on your phone that criticizes President Xi??

 

[SchlongConery]

Top story on the CBC news website.

Travel is down, but electronic searches are up. And more chillingly for US citizens is that these searches on US citizens is up 22%

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/us-canada-device-searches-1.7619944

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released new data showing a sharp rise in electronic device searches at border crossings.

From April to June alone, CBP conducted 14,899 electronic device searches, up more than 21 per cent from the previous quarter (23 per cent over the same period last year). Most of those were basic searches, but 1,075 were "advanced," allowing officers to copy and analyze device contents.

While electronic device searches jumped by 12.6 per cent over the past year, the total number of travellers entering the United States rose by 6.6 per cent. Among the most notable increases are searches of U.S. citizens' devices, which rose nearly 22 per cent.

....

Segal said clients have told her they were asked about their political views, including their opinion of U.S. President Donald Trump.

"We're not following the Constitution ... there's a lot of fear going into the United States. There's the sense that everybody feels like they've done something wrong, but they don't know exactly what it is."

 

[stinkynuts]

I know someone who said that he was asked his views on Trump, and was denied entry when he said he didn’t support him. Apparently this is legal.

They will also search your electronics to see if you posted anything negative about Trump in messages or social media. If you have, you may likely be denied entry.

https://www.reddit.com/r/50501Canada/comments/1jptyt2

 

[squeezer]

And what's the procedure in China if they find something on your phone that criticizes President Xi??

Does this whataboutism justify a US border guard questioning one on their views on Trump? Is this normal to you for a Western country? What if folks entering Canada were asked how they feel about Carney?

 

[Butler1000]

Why some Canadians continue to travel to the US is beyond me. Fuck the USA.

There are better places to visit within Canada or Europe. No need to go to that dystopian shithole.

While I personally am not, there are many with legit reasons. Family, business, own property, and perhaps limited time to travel.

And there are great places in the USA. NYC. Lots of sports. National Parrks California. The list is massive.

 

[Butler1000]

And what's the procedure in China if they find something on your phone that criticizes President Xi??

You do realize you just admitted Trump is acting like a Communist Dictator right?

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

You do realize you just admitted Trump is acting like a Communist Dictator right?

Trump would only act like a communist dictator if he started sending people straight to prison for criticizing him, like Xi does in China.
A simple question from US customs what you think of Trump doesn't quite qualify.
And if you think I'm exaggerating, read this:

Google Search

At the end of the day Americans are protected by the first amendment.
I can't recall in history where someone has been imprisoned for criticizing the US president

 

[Butler1000]

Trump would only act like a communist dictator if he started sending people straight to prison for criticizing him, like Xi does in China.
A simple question from US customs what you think of Trump doesn't quite qualify.
And if you think I'm exaggerating, read this:

Google Search

At the end of the day Americans are protected by the first amendment.
I can't recall in history where someone has been imprisoned for criticizing the US president

He is creeping closer. Those troops he is only sending into blue states for "crime prevention" are there to intimidate and get people used to them.

Or he would be sending them into red state cities too.

 

[lomotil]

By the end of Trump’s term, the US government will be significantly more authoritarian as Trump finds ways to work around the US Constitution and International Trade Agreements to keep his MAGA promise. The use of the US Marines and the National Guard in major American cities is being tested and will be something that America citizens and visitors to the America will get used to going forward.
If Trump tries to annex Canada as he is encouraging the Alberta separatist referendum with connections to Prager University keynote speaker Premier Danielle Smith, Canadians can expect to have new and unique hassles at the border, more so than we are seeing now.
American is undergoing a coup under Trump and he is setting up for not necessarily leaving after the next election, whether he wins or not and he will use the US military, the National Guard and the various MAGA state militias to enforce his authoritarians to alter future POTUS election results in his favour or his acolytes.
It is ironic that a draft dodger, convicted of 34 felonies , intimate of convicted sex traffickers and pedophiles Epstein and Maxwell is now the American Commander in Chief once again for a second term eh!

Many Canadians will increasingly see going to America as a nonstarter.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

He is creeping closer. Those troops he is only sending into blue states for "crime prevention" are there to intimidate and get people used to them.

Or he would be sending them into red state cities too

There's a reason why he's sending troops into Blue cities instead of Red cities, but political discussions are not allowed in the Lounge anymore, and I dont feel like catching another ban, so I'll refrain from responding

 

[JeanGary Diablo]

While I personally am not, there are many with legit reasons. Family, business, own property, and perhaps limited time to travel.

And there are great places in the USA. NYC. Lots of sports. National Parrks California. The list is massive.

The US has good parks and things like Disney are great for kids, but 99% of everything else is crap. NYC? Sorry, I'll take Toronto or Montreal over it, since both TO and MTL are not as loud, smelly or intense.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

The US has good parks and things like Disney are great for kids, but 99% of everything else is crap. NYC? Sorry, I'll take Toronto or Montreal over it, since both TO and MTL are not as loud, smelly or intense

Miami and Ft Lauderdale OTOH are clean, beautifully run cities.
Very little crime, vibrant nightlife, and great golf courses

 

[JeanGary Diablo]

There's a reason why he's sending troops into Blue cities instead of Red cities, but political discussions are not allowed in the Lounge anymore, and I dont feel like catching another ban, so I'll refrain from responding

Most cities in the US are "Blue" cities; shit, even large cities in Texas, like Houston, which is redneck as fuck, are "Blue" cities.




Cities in every Western country are typically run by local governments that are centre-left to left because the populations are younger, more diverse, more educated, more reliant on public services and, thus, are more likely to vote for parties that support policies that reflect that.

Places with Republican governments are more likely to have denizens who spend their days sitting on their porch wearing overalls and chewing tobacco.