I want to be clear, I believe this man was tortured. He has a green card, has a misdemeanor possession of cannabis charge and had a missed court date, all from years ago. He could have his...
I want to be clear, I believe this man was tortured.
Senior described Schmidt being “violently interrogated” at Logan Airport for hours, and being stripped naked, put in a cold shower by two officials, and being put back onto a chair.
She said Schmidt told her immigration agents pressured him to give up his green card. She said he was placed on a mat in a bright room with other people at the airport, with little food or water, suffered sleep deprivation, and was denied access to his medication for anxiety and depression.
He has a green card, has a misdemeanor possession of cannabis charge and had a missed court date, all from years ago. He could have his residency revoked for that but they didn't go through that process.
They apparently know that revoking your green card isn't that easy now that they tried with Mahmoud Khalil, but forcing and pressuring people into deportation is not new. It's less common in white upper-middle class Europeans. (Not that we should only care now, but maybe some folks will)
I try to remember that if they didn't think the laws still mattered they wouldn't be trying to skirt them, they'd just blow through.
I will never forget John Yoo doing the legal work to enable the government to legally justify the open use of torture. At the time, I knew that torture was used 'deniably' in black sites outside...
I will never forget John Yoo doing the legal work to enable the government to legally justify the open use of torture. At the time, I knew that torture was used 'deniably' in black sites outside the country and in proxy wars but making it policy was a big shift and has never been revoked.
It's ironic and sad that popular rejection of the Iraq war and other adventures abroad contributed to Trump's electoral success. (among many factors) and Trump is now promoting more foreign military intervention.
Scary times. American Police have always had a free hand to torture/kill at will. They generally don't, but when they do, they usually throw the book at you. I have had a visa flagged. Took them...
Scary times.
American Police have always had a free hand to torture/kill at will.
They generally don't, but when they do, they usually throw the book at you.
I have had a visa flagged. Took them three months to figure out they had made a mistake.
This article happily talks about his colorful past. Which would be enough to flag him. It could very well be a mistake on their part.
But now the news is talking about torture, I fear there they will simply double down, like the police would, and accuse him of everything they can.
Yeah it seems like his past wasn't an issue til now, and while they could revoke a green card for that past, they previously renewed it after the DUI, and they'd still have to go to court and do...
Yeah it seems like his past wasn't an issue til now, and while they could revoke a green card for that past, they previously renewed it after the DUI, and they'd still have to go to court and do the process of that's the route they went
I don't know if they flagged everyone with any criminal history, if he's queer (the article has been very vague on the partner's identity), if he posted something online that said Fuck the US, or what. Something seems to have triggered it.
But his socioeconomic status, permanent residency, and ethnicity make me wonder if this will break through in a way that brown people being treated cruelly does not. And for all I know the guy was drunk or something, but even if he was it wouldn't be acceptable to treat him like this.
A pattern is starting to form... It seems that ICE is now harassing and abusing lawful European visa and green card holders. More travel bans are coming. I hate to say this, but it's probably not...
A pattern is starting to form... It seems that ICE is now harassing and abusing lawful European visa and green card holders.
Honestly please don't - spend tourism dollars elsewhere, stay safe, don't come to Worldcon or the World Cup. Especially if you're queer, Muslim, Latine, double that if you're trans. Be safe, stay...
Honestly please don't - spend tourism dollars elsewhere, stay safe, don't come to Worldcon or the World Cup. Especially if you're queer, Muslim, Latine, double that if you're trans.
I was super psyched to go see Dropout's dimension 20 in Seattle this year. :( I guess I can still transfer tickets to Americans (can't sell) but they're good seats and I still would love to watch...
I was super psyched to go see Dropout's dimension 20 in Seattle this year. :(
I guess I can still transfer tickets to Americans (can't sell) but they're good seats and I still would love to watch them play. Just don't feel safe being there anymore.
You might be able to see if they'd give you a refund given the situation. They might not but if they can... I'm sorry about the opportunity being lost. (•︵•)
You might be able to see if they'd give you a refund given the situation. They might not but if they can...
I'm sorry about the opportunity being lost. (•︵•)
I am not justifying what happened. Multiple European countries are taking very similar actions. I'm not justifying that either. But my point is that bad things happen, but just like the risk of a...
But my point is that bad things happen, but just like the risk of a plane crash shouldn't keep you from traveling, neither should the risk of a hostile encounter with customs agents. If you do not have any criminal charges, or open court cases against you, or whatever, it is extremely unlikely that you'll have any problems and you shouldn't feel any more unsafe going to America than you should going to, say, Germany.
I'm a white US citizen without any criminal charges and I still feel less safe traveling there than to Germany. I have plenty of criticisms of how European countries treat migrants and immigrants,...
Exemplary
If you do not have any criminal charges, or open court cases against you, or whatever, it is extremely unlikely that you'll have any problems and you shouldn't feel any more unsafe going to America than you should going to, say, Germany.
I'm a white US citizen without any criminal charges and I still feel less safe traveling there than to Germany. I have plenty of criticisms of how European countries treat migrants and immigrants, but equating what we're seeing in the US right now to the anti-migrant policies in Europe is downplaying and normalizing the extremely horrifying and unlawful actions happening in the US right now.
I don't necessarily think every person needs to cancel their trips to the US -- my roommate is traveling to the US to visit her husband later this month -- but it's a risk assessment that has very much changed over the past couple months. It's dishonest to pretend this is no different from entering other rich Western countries. It was easier for me to enter Schengen without any visa or residence permit or even tickets for a return flight than it is for me to enter the US as a citizen well before the recent fuckery in the US.
Hell, I've been profiled by TSA before the current fuckery - vaguely foreign-sounding name, possibly Mediterranean features, carrying non-standard electronic gear... "What country are you from?"...
Hell, I've been profiled by TSA before the current fuckery - vaguely foreign-sounding name, possibly Mediterranean features, carrying non-standard electronic gear... "What country are you from?" is the least of it, even with a Midwestern U.S. accent. It hasn't been a joy to travel here since 9/11/2001, and I'm sorry for all that visitors from other countries are likely to suffer now.
It's not the same thing. The U.S. is blatantly harassing, imprisoning, and forcibly deporting tourist visa and green card holders (lawful permanent residents), not just asylum applicants and...
It's not the same thing. The U.S. is blatantly harassing, imprisoning, and forcibly deporting tourist visa and green card holders (lawful permanent residents), not just asylum applicants and undocumented workers. Whatever the status, the cases reported show ICE and CBP are acting to maximize violation of human rights, in ways designed to sow fear.
It's an authoritarian flex without any restraint. No one should feel safe visiting the U.S., and it's best to avoid giving these bullies an opportunity to show off their power.
Edit: Still moreevidence, including the underlying reason for more stops of legal U.S. residents and visitors. It's easier for ICE and CPB to make their numbers look good by entrapping travelers than by chasing "criminals".
Until I hear about US citizens being detained for days or even weeks at a time at any European/Schengen border, I will happily assert that these situations are not equal in severity. And yes, it...
Until I hear about US citizens being detained for days or even weeks at a time at any European/Schengen border, I will happily assert that these situations are not equal in severity. And yes, it counts, even if it’s only a handful of cases. I would be extremely appalled if my government let something like this situation happen*, regardless of whether it’s just once (and it’s already happened multiple times in the US now).
You got asked more questions entering the US as a US Citizen than you got asked entering most other countries, e.g Germany. And that was before this insanity. Completely reasonable in 2025: Don’t...
You got asked more questions entering the US as a US Citizen than you got asked entering most other countries, e.g Germany. And that was before this insanity.
Completely reasonable in 2025: Don’t visit the US. If you’re on a visa or have LPR in the US, don’t leave the US unless you’re ok with the possibility of being denied entry or detained at the border when you try to enter.
Different risk tolerance. For me, there's a difference between falling through the cracks or something uniquely odd happening that shouldn't have which people can empathize with, vs an extremely...
it is extremely unlikely
Different risk tolerance.
For me, there's a difference between falling through the cracks or something uniquely odd happening that shouldn't have which people can empathize with, vs an extremely unlikely event that policies allow for and people would ignore or even cheer.
I know what you mean, that one can't live in the fear of tiny probability. Eg, I still drive and I fly and I eat raw shellfish etc. But if I get severely injured or sick or die, it would be an "accident". People would look at it and go wow that ain't right let's fix this right away.
Policy enforcement even from just one sadistic bad agent or one self righteous bigot or "not my job to care let the judge sort it out after unlimited solitary confinement days" kind of danger I am unwilling to risk.
I am okay with risk to bodily injury and death, I am not okay with risk to violation or indefinite detainment. Especially not in an environment where I can't trust other enforcement to act on my behalf to rectify the situation immediately.
My personal risk assessment puts this into the definitely not safe category. After the recent tourist “detention” (let’s face it, incarceration – imprisonment, even) and now this… I’m canceling my...
probably not safe
My personal risk assessment puts this into the definitely not safe category. After the recent tourist “detention” (let’s face it, incarceration – imprisonment, even) and now this… I’m canceling my loose plans for a thru-hike like the Appalachian Trail next year (as a German citizen).
I’d rather continue to live freely and not be traumatized needlessly. I do wonder how many other people will come to realize this in terms of the economic impact of a potential tourism decline.
This is 100% torture. It is shocking this happened at Logan in Boston, Mass, a location considered to be generally progressive (perhaps it’s naive of me to think it matters). We are at a point in...
This is 100% torture.
It is shocking this happened at Logan in Boston, Mass, a location considered to be generally progressive (perhaps it’s naive of me to think it matters).
We are at a point in our lives where a green card holder, a white man from Germany, “a hardworking electrical engineer with a partner and 8-year-old daughter who are both U.S. citizens”, been detained and forced to “give up his green card” on no legal grounds(that we know of).
Apparently one of the recent tourist visa detentions that made the news also happened at Logan, my guess is someone in ICE posted there is particularly enthusiastic, whether about following orders...
Apparently one of the recent tourist visa detentions that made the news also happened at Logan, my guess is someone in ICE posted there is particularly enthusiastic, whether about following orders or actively harassing and hurting people, or both, I can't say.
My hunch is that there’s enormous pressure to boost deportations numbers at all the various divisions/offices, and that an “easy” way is to find minor things to detain European visa/green card...
My hunch is that there’s enormous pressure to boost deportations numbers at all the various divisions/offices, and that an “easy” way is to find minor things to detain European visa/green card holders for, and either revoke the visa or pressure them into surrendering their green card.
I also think we're going to see the "enthusiastic" implementation by certain officers, which will mean more abuses in those circumstances. It seems we're "sending a message" that even the...
I also think we're going to see the "enthusiastic" implementation by certain officers, which will mean more abuses in those circumstances. It seems we're "sending a message" that even the slightest thing will lead to your arrest, indefinite detention and deportation. Probably targeted at citizens of countries who pissed Trump off.
But again it's just not how the permanent residency is supposed to work. (And of course a lot of folks are like "why didn't he get citizenship" - because he didn't want to is a sufficient answer, regardless he has rights. )
While I wouldn't call Boston a sundown town or anything, I also wouldn't call it 'progressive.' Plus, Logan has always had awful TSA agents (the whole 9/11 launched from here thing, I think it...
While I wouldn't call Boston a sundown town or anything, I also wouldn't call it 'progressive.' Plus, Logan has always had awful TSA agents (the whole 9/11 launched from here thing, I think it sticks with them) and the Boston Bombing...
Look, not to paint with a broad brush but a lot of the 'Irish Pride' up there doesn't bleed over to any 'other' categories.
Aaaaaand it’s happened again* (*to a person somewhat in the public spotlight): ‘American Pie’ actress says she was detained by ICE while trying to renew her work visa: ‘I have never in my life...
Aaaaaand it’s happened again* (*to a person somewhat in the public spotlight):
I want to be clear, I believe this man was tortured.
He has a green card, has a misdemeanor possession of cannabis charge and had a missed court date, all from years ago. He could have his residency revoked for that but they didn't go through that process.
They apparently know that revoking your green card isn't that easy now that they tried with Mahmoud Khalil, but forcing and pressuring people into deportation is not new. It's less common in white upper-middle class Europeans. (Not that we should only care now, but maybe some folks will)
I try to remember that if they didn't think the laws still mattered they wouldn't be trying to skirt them, they'd just blow through.
I will never forget John Yoo doing the legal work to enable the government to legally justify the open use of torture. At the time, I knew that torture was used 'deniably' in black sites outside the country and in proxy wars but making it policy was a big shift and has never been revoked.
It's ironic and sad that popular rejection of the Iraq war and other adventures abroad contributed to Trump's electoral success. (among many factors) and Trump is now promoting more foreign military intervention.
Scary times.
American Police have always had a free hand to torture/kill at will.
They generally don't, but when they do, they usually throw the book at you.
I have had a visa flagged. Took them three months to figure out they had made a mistake.
This article happily talks about his colorful past. Which would be enough to flag him. It could very well be a mistake on their part.
But now the news is talking about torture, I fear there they will simply double down, like the police would, and accuse him of everything they can.
Yeah it seems like his past wasn't an issue til now, and while they could revoke a green card for that past, they previously renewed it after the DUI, and they'd still have to go to court and do the process of that's the route they went
I don't know if they flagged everyone with any criminal history, if he's queer (the article has been very vague on the partner's identity), if he posted something online that said Fuck the US, or what. Something seems to have triggered it.
But his socioeconomic status, permanent residency, and ethnicity make me wonder if this will break through in a way that brown people being treated cruelly does not. And for all I know the guy was drunk or something, but even if he was it wouldn't be acceptable to treat him like this.
A pattern is starting to form... It seems that ICE is now harassing and abusing lawful European visa and green card holders.
More travel bans are coming.
I hate to say this, but it's probably not safe to visit fascist America right now.
Honestly please don't - spend tourism dollars elsewhere, stay safe, don't come to Worldcon or the World Cup. Especially if you're queer, Muslim, Latine, double that if you're trans.
Be safe, stay away from us. Quarantine us.
I was super psyched to go see Dropout's dimension 20 in Seattle this year. :(
I guess I can still transfer tickets to Americans (can't sell) but they're good seats and I still would love to watch them play. Just don't feel safe being there anymore.
You might be able to see if they'd give you a refund given the situation. They might not but if they can...
I'm sorry about the opportunity being lost. (•︵•)
Thanks for understanding :( deeply deeply disappointed
I am not justifying what happened.
Multiple European countries are taking very similar actions.
I'm not justifying that either.
But my point is that bad things happen, but just like the risk of a plane crash shouldn't keep you from traveling, neither should the risk of a hostile encounter with customs agents. If you do not have any criminal charges, or open court cases against you, or whatever, it is extremely unlikely that you'll have any problems and you shouldn't feel any more unsafe going to America than you should going to, say, Germany.
I'm a white US citizen without any criminal charges and I still feel less safe traveling there than to Germany. I have plenty of criticisms of how European countries treat migrants and immigrants, but equating what we're seeing in the US right now to the anti-migrant policies in Europe is downplaying and normalizing the extremely horrifying and unlawful actions happening in the US right now.
I don't necessarily think every person needs to cancel their trips to the US -- my roommate is traveling to the US to visit her husband later this month -- but it's a risk assessment that has very much changed over the past couple months. It's dishonest to pretend this is no different from entering other rich Western countries. It was easier for me to enter Schengen without any visa or residence permit or even tickets for a return flight than it is for me to enter the US as a citizen well before the recent fuckery in the US.
Hell, I've been profiled by TSA before the current fuckery - vaguely foreign-sounding name, possibly Mediterranean features, carrying non-standard electronic gear... "What country are you from?" is the least of it, even with a Midwestern U.S. accent. It hasn't been a joy to travel here since 9/11/2001, and I'm sorry for all that visitors from other countries are likely to suffer now.
It's not the same thing. The U.S. is blatantly harassing, imprisoning, and forcibly deporting tourist visa and green card holders (lawful permanent residents), not just asylum applicants and undocumented workers. Whatever the status, the cases reported show ICE and CBP are acting to maximize violation of human rights, in ways designed to sow fear.
It's an authoritarian flex without any restraint. No one should feel safe visiting the U.S., and it's best to avoid giving these bullies an opportunity to show off their power.
Edit: Still more evidence, including the underlying reason for more stops of legal U.S. residents and visitors. It's easier for ICE and CPB to make their numbers look good by entrapping travelers than by chasing "criminals".
Until I hear about US citizens being detained for days or even weeks at a time at any European/Schengen border, I will happily assert that these situations are not equal in severity. And yes, it counts, even if it’s only a handful of cases. I would be extremely appalled if my government let something like this situation happen*, regardless of whether it’s just once (and it’s already happened multiple times in the US now).
*let alone endorse the executive to do so!
You got asked more questions entering the US as a US Citizen than you got asked entering most other countries, e.g Germany. And that was before this insanity.
Completely reasonable in 2025: Don’t visit the US. If you’re on a visa or have LPR in the US, don’t leave the US unless you’re ok with the possibility of being denied entry or detained at the border when you try to enter.
Different risk tolerance.
For me, there's a difference between falling through the cracks or something uniquely odd happening that shouldn't have which people can empathize with, vs an extremely unlikely event that policies allow for and people would ignore or even cheer.
I know what you mean, that one can't live in the fear of tiny probability. Eg, I still drive and I fly and I eat raw shellfish etc. But if I get severely injured or sick or die, it would be an "accident". People would look at it and go wow that ain't right let's fix this right away.
Policy enforcement even from just one sadistic bad agent or one self righteous bigot or "not my job to care let the judge sort it out after unlimited solitary confinement days" kind of danger I am unwilling to risk.
I am okay with risk to bodily injury and death, I am not okay with risk to violation or indefinite detainment. Especially not in an environment where I can't trust other enforcement to act on my behalf to rectify the situation immediately.
My personal risk assessment puts this into the definitely not safe category. After the recent tourist “detention” (let’s face it, incarceration – imprisonment, even) and now this… I’m canceling my loose plans for a thru-hike like the Appalachian Trail next year (as a German citizen).
I’d rather continue to live freely and not be traumatized needlessly. I do wonder how many other people will come to realize this in terms of the economic impact of a potential tourism decline.
This is 100% torture.
It is shocking this happened at Logan in Boston, Mass, a location considered to be generally progressive (perhaps it’s naive of me to think it matters).
We are at a point in our lives where a green card holder, a white man from Germany, “a hardworking electrical engineer with a partner and 8-year-old daughter who are both U.S. citizens”, been detained and forced to “give up his green card” on no legal grounds(that we know of).
Apparently one of the recent tourist visa detentions that made the news also happened at Logan, my guess is someone in ICE posted there is particularly enthusiastic, whether about following orders or actively harassing and hurting people, or both, I can't say.
My hunch is that there’s enormous pressure to boost deportations numbers at all the various divisions/offices, and that an “easy” way is to find minor things to detain European visa/green card holders for, and either revoke the visa or pressure them into surrendering their green card.
I also think we're going to see the "enthusiastic" implementation by certain officers, which will mean more abuses in those circumstances. It seems we're "sending a message" that even the slightest thing will lead to your arrest, indefinite detention and deportation. Probably targeted at citizens of countries who pissed Trump off.
But again it's just not how the permanent residency is supposed to work. (And of course a lot of folks are like "why didn't he get citizenship" - because he didn't want to is a sufficient answer, regardless he has rights. )
While I wouldn't call Boston a sundown town or anything, I also wouldn't call it 'progressive.' Plus, Logan has always had awful TSA agents (the whole 9/11 launched from here thing, I think it sticks with them) and the Boston Bombing...
Look, not to paint with a broad brush but a lot of the 'Irish Pride' up there doesn't bleed over to any 'other' categories.
He did not give up his green card; he was pressured to do so but did not. The article is a bit ambiguous.
JFC! As a hetero straight white male, this makes me anxious to travel back into the country from outside.
Aaaaaand it’s happened again* (*to a person somewhat in the public spotlight):
‘American Pie’ actress says she was detained by ICE while trying to renew her work visa: ‘I have never in my life seen anything so inhumane’
From another source:
Again, that is literal, textbook-definition torture. Not worth the risk, at least to me.