US citizens getting pulled aside: Travelers fear scrutiny at the border is rising

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When returning to the United States from her spring break trip to Curaçao, Keylin Rivera's worst-case scenario came true.

Rivera, a U.S. and Colombian dual citizen, had flown into Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday for a layover before heading back to Boston. She was passing through the border control Global Entry line at the Charlotte airport. But when she put her passport in the kiosk, it flagged her to see an officer. This has happened before, but officers usually just glance at her document and let her through, so she didn't think much of it.

But this time she was led into a back room where she was questioned about her trip, and her bags were searched – under what they told her was a random search. Rivera asked for her passport back and resumed her journey home, but she still feels unsettled by the incident.

"There's so much uncertainty, we don't know what could happen, and I've been really anxious about traveling in general, about getting stopped, which I did get stopped," the Harvard graduate student and former political appointee under the Biden administration told Paste BN. "I was bracing myself already for that."

Before she landed in Charlotte, Rivera "prepared for the worst" by deleting all her social media apps and removing Face ID from her phone. She mass-texted her friends when she got flagged, just in case something serious were to happen.

What travelers should know: Yes, border control can go through your phone.

"I guess my question is: Why wasn’t anyone else? Why was I the only one?" she said.

Amid news of detainments, deportations and higher immigration scrutiny under the Trump administration, Americans are feeling increased anxiety about crossing U.S. borders. Even those with valid visas to lawfully study, work and live in the country feel the pressure. Travelers are rethinking any upcoming international travel out of fear of being stopped – or worse.

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"Officers are being encouraged by this administration to not leave any stone unturned and to make sure they're asking questions and gathering information, so I think people who previously had not encountered any issues might see that change," said Glenn Schieck, an immigration lawyer at Harter Secrest & Emery LLP who works closely with foreign nationals with permanent residency or on visas. "We are, overall, just going to see more going on at the border."

'A focus on enhanced vetting'

Recently, legal residents have faced detention or deportation. The Trump administration is following through on its promise to increase national security and address what it considers public safety threats, as stated in an executive order Jan. 20, including a full review of visa issuance programs and a likely travel ban on more than 40 countries.

"The United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security," according to the order.

"What we do know is that under this administration, there's a focus on what's called enhanced vetting, which is basically a directive that immigration officers should approach people entering the U.S. with a heightened scrutiny," Schieck said. "So I think officers are perhaps asking questions about things that might not have previously been on their radar."

Earlier this month, Lebanese physician and Brown University professor Rasha Alawieh was returning from a visit back home when she was detained at Boston Logan International Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for Hezbollah-related media on her phone. Her visa was canceled, and she has since been deported.

Universities across the country have warned international students to rethink out-of-country travel plans after those who have been outspoken against political conflicts, particularly the Israel-Hamas war, have been hunted by ICE. A 21-year-old South Korean Columbia University student named Yunseo Chung, who has lived in the United States since she was a child, is facing deportation, and an Indian Ph.D. student recently self-deported to Canada.

These high-profile cases contribute to the fear and uncertainty many Americans are feeling around what could happen if they try to leave or return to the United States, especially with reports of border control officers increasingly searching travelers' devices.

"It's just that things are changing so quickly; there are a lot of reports out there," Schieck said. "People just don't know whether they're going to have a problem at the border."

Despite being lawfully allowed in the United States, these high-profile cases showcase bolstered vetting against legal residents and non-residents, specifically those on H1B (work) visas, student visas or green cards, according to Lynn Damiano Pearson, senior staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center. "There's certainly been examples of extreme escalation of increased scrutiny and tougher actions being against people who have some valid form of immigration."

If the proposed travel ban does get implemented, which could be as soon as Friday, there could be internal enforcement or cancellation of visas on legal immigrants from the listed countries given the language in the executive order, but it's too soon to tell.

Those living in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico or Guam "absolutely shouldn't" have trouble traveling across borders, given that they're U.S. citizens, Pearson said. "However, when we see this increased scrutiny, we also see racial profiling."

"The very fact that we're having this conversation about people who are citizens ... just really both shows the escalation but also shows how intertwined U.S. citizen rights are with immigrant rights, all of our rights are intertwined, and affects all of us," Pearson said.

'Really concerned'

Ginny Williams, an American freelance writer with dual citizenship to the United Kingdom, has been living in Kent for over a decade but is due to return to the United States in six months to visit her parents. She and her U.K.-born husband have had problems with immigration before when trying to get his permanent residency. The administration's new policies only exacerbate her fears about returning to the United States.

"Those historical things always make me a little bit nervous about going back in, and now, with everything going on, I’m really concerned about going back again," she said. She adding that it feels like the pandemic era when she was stuck and unable to travel, but this time, the destination is her home and the concern comes from politics.

Her return home feels necessary, given her father's declining health. "As much as I hate to say it, if that weren’t the case, if my parents weren’t elderly, I wouldn’t go back," she said. "It's six months away, and so much can change by then."

Williams is considering deleting her social media as the trip approaches, just to be safe.

Not much is certain for now as circumstances evolve. "What is clear is the officers at the border have broad discretion to investigate, to ask questions to make sure they understand the purpose of someone's trip to the U.S.," Schieck said. "And it's a very broad level of discretion, whether you're a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident."

He recommends people be as honest and prepared as possible when arriving at the border to articulate the reason they're entering the United States and carry all the documents to support their claims. "If someone is found to make a misrepresentation, that can cause very, very serious immigration consequences," he said.

A British tourist who was doing household chores for host families during a backpacking trip was detained in Washington for weeks after being denied entry into Canada for "an incorrect visa."

According to Pearson, green card holders who haven't had trouble crossing borders should still be able to travel smoothly so long as their documents are in order and up to date, know their rights at the border (like the right to request an attorney), and consult an immigration attorney.

Rivera feels discouraged and exhausted over not only the stress from the administration's heightened scrutiny but the political divisiveness. "I wish (the administration) wouldn’t see other people that oppose their views as the enemy, because I’m not your enemy. I'm genuinely rooting for you − I want you to succeed," she said.

This week, she's leaving the country again for a trip with a friend, but she feels more nervous after this past weekend's incident. "I just have more anxiety around traveling. I know I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m not breaking any laws. I’m a U.S. citizen. I hate that the joy I had in traveling is sort of getting snatched from me."