Two countries issue new warnings about travel to the US | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Since President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House began in January, multiple countries have strengthened the advisories they have for citizens traveling to the U.S.

High-profile stories of border detentions and tourists caught up in the administration’s anti-immigrant crackdown have pushed a number of nations to explicitly focus on border enforcement — some of the countries to update their advisories include Canada, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Finland, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

“Even a slight overstay of the visa upon entry or exit can lead to arrest, detention, and deportation upon entry or exit,” the latter country’s Foreign Ministry now states on its website. “[…] The final decision regarding entry is made by the U.S. border official.”

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‘Violent crime is more common in the United States’: latest update

While many such statements were added immediately after news of the first deportations started going public last spring, Australia and New Zealand both recently tweaked their travel warnings for the U.S. further.

“Entry requirements are strict,” the Australian update made on June 24 now reads. “U.S. authorities have broad powers to decide if you’re eligible to enter and may determine that you are inadmissible for any reason under U.S. law. Check U.S. entry, registration, transit, and exit requirements.” The government’s travel page further states that “violent crime is more common in the United States than in Australia.”

Nearby New Zealand has made its own updates to its travel guidance for the U.S. — the latest ones were added on July 2. While Australia keeps the U.S. at the lowest “exercise normal safety precautions” rating, New Zealand has it at level two’s “exercised increased caution” over higher rates of violent crime and risk of terrorism in major cities.

Australia and New Zealand have both recently updated their travel advisories for the United States.

Image source&colon; Veronika Bondarenko

‘More significant safety or security concerns’: Kiwi government

“There are more significant safety or security concerns than you would usually find in New Zealand, particularly because of terrorism and incidents of civil unrest,” the travel advisory now reads. “[…] There is a higher incidence of violent crime and firearm possession than in New Zealand. New Zealanders traveling or residing in the United States should have comprehensive travel and medical insurance policies in place.”

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Both countries also warned their citizens to be especially cautious in crowded malls, shopping markets, popular tourist attractions, and other places that bring together large groups of people.

American diplomats have previously expressed their dissatisfaction with advisories that take an alarmist tone — after Canada made similar updates, U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra called it “an isolated event […] and not a pattern” and then falsely claimed that U.S. border agents “don’t do” phone searches.

Both Customs and Border Protection agents and customs agents for most other nations have full authority to ask to see a traveler’s phone, even if such instances occur very infrequently proportionate to how many people enter the country every day without issue.

“If a Canadian has had a disappointing experience coming into the United States, I’m not denying that it happened, but I’m saying it’s an isolated event and it is not a pattern,” Hoekstra said in the June interview with the Canadian press.