The teens claimed CBP targeted them because they hadn’t booked hotels for their entire stay in Hawaii.
“They found it suspicious that we hadn’t fully booked our accommodations for the entire five weeks in Hawaii,” Pohl said. “We wanted to travel spontaneously. Just like we had done in Thailand and New Zealand.”
At least they weren’t detained.
CBP told them their entry was denied — and that they would be detained until their deportation.
Both say they were handcuffed and sent to a detention center, which they claimed was more like a prison.
“We were searched with metal detectors, our entire bodies were scanned, and we had to stand naked in front of the police officers and were looked through,” Pohl said. “Then we were given green prison clothes and put in a prison cell with serious criminals.”
What is the sensationalist crap? They admitted they intended to work, probably talked too fucking much. I mean for chrissakes they even told the reporter they intend to work in another foreign country soon.
Yes. Teenage girls not keeping their traps shut, even in front of immigration SOBs seems to be the most likely thing, here.
What does working in a different country have to do with the US? They said they didn’t want to work in the US and that CBP falsified their testimony. As they themselves admitted it was just naiv to believe germans were excempt from the administrations pullshit.
I mean, assuming any of that is true,; fine. Deny them entry and send them back home. Why are they strip searching then and throwing them behind bars?
“These travelers were denied entry after attempting to enter the U.S. under false pretenses. One used a Visitor visa, the other the Visa Waiver Program,” CBP Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham said in a statement. “Both claimed they were touring California but later admitted they intended to work – something strictly prohibited under U.S. immigration laws for these visas.”
Provided that that’s true, and I’m not saying it definitely is, that would be a valid reason to deny entry.
I would bet it was for a WWOOFing or Workaway style thing where you do a few hours menial labor in exchange for room and board. Often attracts backpacker types. Typical advice is to lie to Customs (in any country) and just get a tourist visa, which is always a gamble at best.
I think we’re pretty well past giving the gestapo the benefit of the doubt.
“They contained sentences we didn’t actually say,” Pohl said of interrogation transcripts they were sent home with.
“They twisted it to make it seem as if we admitted that we wanted to work illegally in the US,” she told the German outlet Ostee Zeitung.
This really doesn’t seem like something the administration has a hand in.
When you travel internationally and land the first thing that happens is you fill out a slip go through immigration. The slip asks how long you are staying and where your are staying among other things.
Not accounting for your accommodations for the full duration of your trip will get you flagged for more questions. If the immigration officer things you are going to work during your stay they will deny you because it’s illegal on a tourist visa.
What the girls should have done was just say they were staying at the hotel for the whole time (although 5 weeks at a hotel is probably also a red flag)
What an amazing coincidence that since the change in administrations there have been multiple horror stories about CBP detaining tourists at the slightest suspicion they might do housework or some undetermined gig work during a 3 week stay. Trying to pretend this is just how it always worked is naive in the extreme.
I agree, but you can imagine that when you have young adults in a room for hours, you can guide them toward those answers as well. When I was younger, I would book tickets to travel and explore the world without any idea of what the next day would bring. You can see how discussions can lead to questions like, “So, in five weeks, will you work if you don’t have a hostel?” and the response being, “Oh yeah, why not?” I’m not suggesting that the young person didn’t plan for this, but considering they were coming from Thailand and New Zealand…
Oh no! This dastardly Europeans wanted to come here and work! How dare they! Deport them!
This country was cooked a long time ago.
From another story about the event, it wasn’t even like odd jobs for a host, it was small job remote work for people in Germany and Asia. Stuff they would be doing at home and just kept doing during downtime on a long vacation.
Don’t reply to any business emails while lounging by the pool, you need a work visa for that!
This is a much, much better article. I’m surprised at the NYPost’s shoddy quality (though I don’t know much about them); the headline especially feels misleading. Thanks for sharing a better source.
