A “dangerous” Canadian’s interesting retelling of being detained.
Seems like the detain as many people as possible business is good. Makes your wonder exactly how much money is being syphoned to private detention companies.
As more and more stories like this come out, expect a negative impact on foreign tourism into the US.
It’s all about the show, for the “base”.
The German government is being very careful to say this is not an official “travel warning”.
Steve
Gonna cost millions, at least.
It’s not just New York City, there’s a lot of Canadian tourism that’s being cancelled. New York State, much of New England, Ohio, Illinois, the Grand Canyon and more are already beginning to see the results of “make it the 51st state” and tariff threats.
All/mostly Blue States. Part of The Plan most likely. NYC ain’t gonna vote for him anyway. Why not punish them?
Not only is detention good for their bottom line, it can be used to coerce an entire population!
Let’s see, what will private prisons’ incentive be, find more customers?
Private prisons are an evil industry.
Remember how delighted the President of El Salvador is to take those several hundred people the US deported, without legal due process, and in defiance of court order?
“It was approximately $6 million, to El Salvador, for the detention of these foreign terrorists,” she told reporters. “And I would point out that is pennies on the dollar in comparison to the cost of life, and the cost it would impose on the American taxpayer to house these terrorists in maximum security prisons here in the United States of America.”
I wonder how much of that $6M goes directly into el Presidente’s pocket?
Steve
Let’s let that sink in a moment. Could ANYONE be deported without due process? Yes! Anyone. Out of sight, out of mind.
We have been on this road a long time. Remember Jose Padilla? A US citizen, civilian, arrested in the US, and tossed in prison, for an indefinite term, entirely on the administration’s claim he was involved in a “dirty bomb” plot, with zero legal due process. There was, eventually, enough stink raised that the government finally did put him on trial, and convict him, of something else, because there was no evidence of the “dirty bomb” plot.
Steve
Once the word of arbitrary detentions spreads, foreign tourism to and through the US will crater. Macro. As offered previously, 18m USians work in travel and tourism.
I read the attached Guardian link.
I’m ashamed to be an American.
I hope the perpetrators get to personally feel some of what
the young Canadian woman felt.
I’m praying for the perps to be more compassionate and empathetic. If that doesn’t work, it’s vengeance time! Just kidding, sort of…
I just read the article. Horrible experience, but these articles recently about white women being detained for visa issues make it sound like the writers believe that only brown women with visa issues should be detained. Sorry, if you are Canadian and attempted to enter at one border and was denied entry (and your record is then flagged), and then try entering at another entry, you run a high risk of being detained, especially if you’ve already crossed the border and are presenting documents. And if you are Danish, overstayed your previous visa, and then entered later on a new visa, you are also flagged and can be denied entry. And again, if you are already beyond the border, you might be detained. One of my sons-in-law is not a US citizen and we went through a whole process to get him a visa waiver to enter the country to attend a wedding last month. The process took months and was a huge pain, BUT we made damn sure that all his paperwork was in order BEFORE he got on the plane.
Also quite funny, right near the end of the article, it says this -
Companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group receive government funding based on the number of people they detain, which is why they lobby for stricter immigration policies. It’s a lucrative business: CoreCivic made over $560m from Ice contracts in a single year. In 2024, GEO Group made more than $763m from Ice contracts.
And then immediately after the article they have this as part of their fundraising effort -
Why you can rely on the Guardian not to bow to Trump
It is not that he gets it wrong but he knows what he is doing.
He is wrong because he does not know what he is doing.
Speaking of the mob deported to the prison in El Salvadore, there was a piece on the CBS news this evening. One of the people apparently grabbed, has no criminal record in the US, and no criminal record in Venezuela. He made a routine check-in with ICE, was arrested, and is now “disappeared”.
Steve
That’s an interesting take. When I read it, I thought it was pretty clear that the woman understood her privilege and was trying to raise awareness around the other women who don’t have the means and support to fight back.
Congratulations! Your comment reeks of empathy for those locked away for weeks or months due to minor visa issues. On a side note, spending money on detaining them is super efficient.
I suppose you skipped over the part of the post showing their stock price skyrocketing right after the election. Those 2024 profits will look like chump change as compared to 2025 profits.
I know, it’s hilarious! When the president attacks free speech and threatens the free press, it’s insane that journalists would make such a statement. Journalism being under attack makes me laugh so hard I cry!
ripped from the headlines
Steve
Business is good, profits are up. They have 50 locations in the US, the contract you cited is for one facility…
And they’re saving money by having detainees clean their facilities.
But, back to the macro at hand -
“Tourism Economics is a global travel data company that calculates travel forecasts based on the economic and demographic outlook for certain regions. The company initially predicted that foreign travel to the U.S. would increase by 8.8% in 2025—but, last month, that shifted to a 5.1% decrease in response to “polarizing Trump administration policies and rhetoric,” according to a statement shared with The Washington Post . The new report also predicts that spending by foreign tourists could decrease by 11%, leading to a total economic loss of $18.8 billion.”
A 13.9% swing in foreign travel is nothing to sneeze at. Who had disrupting foreign tourism to the US bigly on their bingo card?
Maybe the US could start ransoming people? Snatch some tourists off the street, and let it be known, they can be released and deported, for a certain amount?
Steve
Somali pirates got CSM. But NOBODY WILL PAY.
