EDIT: Consensus has been achieved, original post below. General consensus is that people haven’t had issues with US customs, as long as all the paperwork is in order.
Thanks to everyone who commented, I greatly appreciate your input!
Hey everyone!
For those that have crossed the US / Canadian border recently: what was your experience when going through US customs? Were you harassed / detained? Any tips to prepare for crossing?
My SO and I were talking earlier about having some family come up from the US to Canada to visit us. I suggested maybe they should wait a bit due to the apparent unhinged behaviour of US Customs; However, while my SO doesn’t deny the stories, she believes they might be rare cases & blown out of proportion by the media. She found out that the Vancouver woman that was detained for ~2 weeks also had improper paperwork - which is often left out by the media. While the detainment duration is still totally unjustified, the initial detainment was caused by the improper paperwork.
So I’m reaching out to those that actually cross the border to see what’s actually going on; as the media can be fanatical sometimes.
Thanks in advance!
I’ve crossed from Canada to the US (and back) twice since Trump took power. The questions asked by US border agents were the same as previous crossings.
I’m a Canadian citizen, so I suspect US citizens would have an even easier time. FWIW my party’s documents were in order.
I think there’s a lot of hyperbole at the moment. My crossing experience was unchanged.
Do they check your phone? Like someone else mentioned.
No. They asked their usual three or four questions and sent us on our way.
The only reply from an actual border crosser!
Yeah. I think there’s a lot of noise about what border agents can do if they feel like it, but I’m not sure if they actually use those powers in most interactions.