365

German Thru-Hiker Detained, Deported, and Banned From US - The Trek (thetrek.co)

submitted 2 years ago by goofus@lemmy.today to c/politics@lemmy.world

49 comments fedilink hide all child comments

It’s every international thru-hiker’s worst nightmare: training for a long hike, saving enough money for the trip, and clearing your calendar, only to be stopped at the border and turned back before ever setting foot on US soil — let alone the trail.

Seasoned German thru-hiker and Trek blogger Annika “Ravenclaw” Ananias says that nightmare came true for her — and escalated to a horrifying degree when she attempted to enter the US to hike the Arizona Trail (AZT) last month.

Ananias had expected the journey to be routine, having previously come to the US on a B2 tourist visa in 2022 and 2024 to thru-hike the PCT and CDT, respectively. But upon reaching US passport control this time, she found herself detained, interrogated, and accused of intending to work illegally in the US.

Ananias says she was separated from her American boyfriend, shouted at and mocked by US border officials, and detained overnight in a cold, shared holding cell without access to medication. After 22 hours of incarceration, the hammer fell: despite having broken no laws and holding the same valid B2 visa under which she previously hiked the PCT and CDT, she was deported back to Germany and handed a five-year ban on re-entering the United States.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] Cephiroth@lemmy.world 52 points 2 years ago

This is infuriating. How can this even be legal?

[-] Empricorn@feddit.nl 58 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

You think the maga freaks care what's legal!? AND traditional "small government, financially conservative" Republicans give them the cover they need to defraud and strip the country for scrap, they are just as complicit. Any true Patriot would have voted to haul them in front of Congress by now (no matter what party), or impeached Trump...

[-] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 19 points 2 years ago

Oh they do care what's legal, but not for the same reasons.

They think that any laws against their beliefs are there specifically to persecute them. Because that's exactly what they would be doing (as an individual) if they were in power. Hence the bullshit we are seeing now with them gaining power.

[-] zib@lemmy.world 32 points 2 years ago

Anything is legal when you just ignore the law and make up the rules to suit your own agenda.

[-] Cephiroth@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

Surely this wouldn’t hold up when she eventually files a lawsuit right?

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 22 points 2 years ago

In whose court?

[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

Have you ever tried to get justice as a foreigner in am American court? Good luck with that. Yes, American courts are that biased.

[-] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 years ago

Why would she even want to come back. The world is big, there are less shitty places to go for a hike.

[-] mkwt@lemmy.world 26 points 2 years ago

For any non citizen, non LPR (green card), the border official at the desk holds the final authority on whether to admit. This is true with a visa or without one. US visas (not green cards) can be effectively cancelled at the border with no notice.

All visitors to the US, visa or no, must overcome a presumption of immigrant intent at the border interview each time they visit.

Unfortunately, the whole story seems to be legal. I would recommending thru hiking in some less shit hole countries.

[-] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

From the article ...

The legal mechanism behind Ananias’ harrowing experience is known as “expedited removal.” Created in 1996, the statute grants broad powers to low-level border officials to unilaterally remove non-citizens from the United States without a hearing in front of an immigration judge

[-] barneypiccolo@lemm.ee 13 points 2 years ago

To MAGAs, anything you get away with is legal.

[-] cerement@slrpnk.net 10 points 2 years ago

“legality” has never stopped rulers before

[-] Auli@lemmy.ca -5 points 2 years ago

Nobody has a right to enter any other country then their own.

[-] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

What in the everloving fuck are visas for, then?

this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2025

365 points (100.0% liked)

politics

31167 readers

2638 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

Post only links to articles. Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

Articles must be relevant to US politics and contain quality and original content. Social Media adjacent hosts like Substack are allowed, but ONLY if they tie back to a company/subsidiary. No personal or friend group blogs and no self-promotion. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and re-hosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing other users of being bots or paid actors.
No memes, trolling, misinformation, or low-effort posts/comments (including reposts). If you see posts like this that anger you, do not engage. Report, block, and live a happier life than they do. Any slap-fight is subject to comment removals. Fights full of rule violations will result in temporary bans to cool off.
No manipulating votes via bots or alt accounts; this will result in permanent bans. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in an account ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be permanently banned.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules and use critical thinking when reading, posting, and commenting. Users that repeatedly have comments or posts removed, weaponize reports, or violate the code of conduct, will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users. The reason(s) behind moderator action(s) are publicly available through the Modlog.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

• Register To Vote

• Citizenship Resource Center

• Congressional Awards Program

• Federal Government Agencies

• Library of Congress Legislative Resources

• The White House

• U.S. House of Representatives

• U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

• News