Subtitles section Play video
-
Germany has updated its travel advisory for the United States after several Germans were detained at the US border.
-
It comes amid a broad crackdown by the Trump administration on immigration.
-
Germany is now telling its citizens that a visa or an entry waiver to the US.
-
Does not guarantee entry to the country.
-
A German Foreign Ministry spokesman says that Berlin is trying to ascertain if there has been a possible change in American immigration policy.
-
Well, for more, I'm joined now by our political correspondent Simon Young.
-
Simon, good to see you, let's start with the case of these people who were detained.
-
What?
-
More do we know about these cases?
-
And do they have anything in common?
-
Yeah, Brad, the German Foreign Ministry says it's recently become aware of three cases in which German citizens were detained as they tried to enter the United States.
-
And were held and and subsequently were denied entry and deported.
-
And in one such case, a German citizen who was living in the US, according to his family, he was detained in Boston and held for over a week.
-
And in another case, a German man who's engaged to an American woman and had a multiple entry visa and had used it to visit his fiance quite often, but the the two of them went for a for a holiday in Mexico.
-
And when they tried to return to the United States, the German man was detained, he was held for 16 days.
-
Several Germans arrested upon arrival in the US.
-
Yeah, they're asking them to be a little bit more careful, even if these incidents are isolated incidents, the German Foreign Ministry apparently felt the need to update its travel advisory to the United States.
-
I mean, why do you think it was willing to take that step?
-
Well, I think they don't want to have incidents where German citizens are being held by the US authorities for whatever reason.
-
And they point out that there are some clearly established reasons why the US immigration authorities might, um, you know, look at people more closely if they have a criminal record in the US.
-
If they have given false information about the purpose of their visit to the United States, or indeed even a minor overstay can sort of trigger pretty draconian action by the US authorities, including arrest and detention and deportation.
-
Yeah, the enforcement appears to be something new here.
-
And I'm wondering, Simon, has something changed in German US relations here?
-
Are we seeing a sign of a change?
-
Well, you know, in the wider relationship, we know that, you know, Donald Trump has changed a lot of things recently, but I think in relation to this matter, well, other nationalities have also been affected.
-
We've heard about a case of a British woman who was detained for 10 days because of a suspected breach in her of her visa conditions.
-
So I I think perhaps the context is, you know, Donald Trump has signed a load of executive orders tightening the vetting of visas and tightening immigration more generally.
-
He wants to target criminals who have no right to be in the US, but it's possible the immigration authorities are under sort of pressure to deliver and perhaps that's why now they're extending their sort of purview even to include tourists and business people visiting the US.
-
And that's why it's important for them to be very careful that, you know, all their papers are in order.
-
DW's Simon Young with the latest from Berlin tonight.
-
Simon, as always, thank you.
