For roughly 100 days, Thomas says he faced harsh detention conditions, despite agreeing to deportation

Thomas, a 35-year-old tech worker and father of three from Ireland, came to West Virginia to visit his girlfriend last fall. It was one of many trips he had taken to the US, and he was authorized to travel under a visa waiver program that allows tourists to stay in the country for 90 days.

He had planned to return to Ireland in December, but was briefly unable to fly due to a health issue, his medical records show. He was only three days overdue to leave the US when an encounter with police landed him in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody.

From there, what should have been a minor incident became a nightmarish ordeal: he was detained by Ice in three different facilities, ultimately spending roughly 100 days behind bars with little understanding of why he was being held – or when he’d get out.

  • PlaidBaron@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Daily reminder (especially to my Canadian homies) for the love of fuck do NOT travel to the US. They have made it clear they dont want visitors and it isnt safe for us to go there.

    Do not risk it. Find any other safe country to visit and go there instead. Or stay home and see your own country.

    Or if you want to visit North America, may I suggest Canada? Its nice here and we have cool things to see too. Also you wont be detained for no reason and live for months in a cage.

    • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      And may I suggest Mexico? It’s a beautiful country full of wonderful food, music, and people. North America is a shit sandwich, but the bread on both ends is quite magnificent.

      • ObjectivityIncarnate@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, never mind that the murder rate per 100k in Mexico is quadruple what it is in the “backwater” US (25.2 vs 6.3). It’s flawless and beautiful, and the US is just horrible and worse in every way than there and everywhere else, “shit”, as you said.

        Wonder why so many people are trying to immigrate there, then, hm. Also, Mexico’s got more people trying to get out than get in, how strange.

        Ah, what do all those people know, anyway? They’re just making the decision to completely uproot their lives and go to another country for fun, not because they’re desperate for a better life!

        • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          Please see my other comment about how the statistics can be misleading.

          I am in no way saying that Mexico is utopia, they have their problems just like all countries do. Wealth inequality is a big problem. That doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t travel there though. If you are a traveler from outside of North America, no Mexican version of ICE is going to put you in Alligator Auschwitz.

          Also, it is worth noting that many of the immigrants coming through Mexico are from South America, where there are even larger problems with poverty than in Mexico. Sure, plenty of Mexicans are coming too, but not all brown people are running from the same problem.

    • The_v@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I know several people with dual citizenship Canadian/U.S. who have moved from the U.S. to Canada in the past several months.

      I just figured out a path for me to gain Mexican permanent resident and eventually Mexican citizenship if needed. It will take some time but with how this country is going, My wife and I need an escape route.

      • OutlierBlue@lemmy.cadeleted by creator
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        1 year ago

        If you have an escape route available, I suggest getting it prepared now. Hopefully you won’t need it, but it’s better to be prepared than not.

        • The_v@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          If only the dumbfucks with the stupid slogans like “love it or leave it” knew just how difficult and costly it is to legally move to another country. Unless you have money, work in a high demand job or have family connections it’s fucking difficult or close to impossible to do.

          Most of the dumbfucks have no way to legally move to any other country legally.

      • rumba@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        Fam has researched the same things, but have worried that Mexcico might not be far enough.

        Also some worry that the locals might take it out on expats if it becomes a war.

        • Revan343@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          Also some worry that the locals might take it out on expats if it becomes a war.

          Learn Spanish, and hope they focus on the gringos that only speak 'Murican

          • rumba@lemmy.zip
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            1 year ago

            It’s aboot time someone came up with a good solution for that thanks!

      • chaosCruiser@futurology.today
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        1 year ago

        That’s an unusual situation. Normally, Mexicans are trying to get a US citizenship, not the other way around. In any case, I wonder how long does it take for US citizens to apply for political asylum elsewhere.

        • The_v@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Mexican immigration rules from what I am seeing are very reasonable with clear processes and do not require a lawyer for most people. So you rarely hear about immigrants having issues. The entire process is relatively inexpensive as well.

          To legally immigrate to the U.S. almost always requires a lawyer, the process is deliberately convoluted, and costs thousands of dollars in fees.

          Applying for political asylum outside of the U.S., good luck. The burden of proof is quite high and costly. Most people will not qualify, yet…

          https://www.relocate.world/articles/us-citizens-seeking-asylum

        • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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          1 year ago

          mexican born , are tyring to flee to the usa, but american citizens to mexico, probably more common than you think. i have met college students who stayed in mexico permanantly after thier semester was over in the us, this was a long time ago though. its quite common apparently. hard to justify staying in HCOL country.

    • k0e3@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Come to Japan but avoid the big cities. Check out our smaller prefectures instead. It’s not as glitzy as Tokyo, Osaka, or Kyoto, but there will be less crowds and beautiful nature.

    • chuitz@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      No, sir, you may not. I’m currently in Canada travelling with a group of people. Several times we heard strangers passing by were mumbling “f**king tourists”. We tried to ask the last one what did he just say, he avoided to answer, we told him to shut the f**k up, and after that he attacked us.

      • mika_mika@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        You can say fuck in the internet, it’s okay… the Canadian can’t hurt you here.

      • PlaidBaron@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Uh huh.

        Let me guess. You disarmed them with your martial arts skills and everyone clapped, saluted, and sang God Bless America.

        • chuitz@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          No. A guy from the group managed to de-escalate the situation. As for the “God Bless America” song why do we need to sing it? We are a mixed group from Germany, France and China, half of the group doesn’t speak English and the other doesn’t know the words.

          • PlaidBaron@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Either way, assuming youre telling the truth, thats a very rare occurance. Tourists are welcomed here. Sometimes tourists cause problems (they do in all countries) but being attacked? That isnt the norm at all and I have real doubts youre being entirely honest.