U.S. immigration crackdown a growing concern for Canadian travellers: lawyer

Immigration Lawyer Len Saunders says we’re hearing more stories of Canadians being detained at U.S. points of entry due to new executive orders.

As a sweeping U.S. crackdown on immigration continues, one American lawyer says recent events have made some Canadians “pause and think twice” about their trips south of the border.

“You hear these stories of Canadians being taken into custody, you hear about this new registration for snowbird-ers if you’re here for more than 30 days," Len Saunders of Washington State told CTV Your Morning in a Wednesday interview.

“All of these stories are due to these executive orders that were signed within a day or two of the new administration.”

Fears of trouble with U.S. immigration officials have sharpened in recent weeks following the detention of Vancouver entrepreneur Jasmine Mooney, for whom a routine visa renewal at a San Diego, Calif. border checkpoint became a 12-day nightmare in U.S. custody.

Mooney returned to Canada Saturday, telling CTV News that she remained confused about not just what went wrong with her visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, but also how she was allowed to come home.

“No one told me anything. Not once,” she said shortly after landing at Vancouver International Airport.

Saunders, who advised Mooney before her episode at the border, says the past few months have brought a huge change to the experience of dealing with U.S. officials, even in cases where there are problems with the paperwork.

“I’ve never had a Canadian taken into custody applying for a work visa,” he told CTV News.

“I’ve had lots of clients who, you know, they have deficiencies in their letter, the wrong documents, and they’re merely told to go back, get the right documents and reapply.”

Saunders, who himself immigrated to the United States, says Mooney’s case serves as a warning to be prepared.

“What I’ve been telling a lot of fellow Canadians is: ‘Go to the airport,’” he said. “If you get denied entry at one of the pre-flight clearance facilities in Canada, you can’t be detained, because you’re still on Canadian soil.‘”

Saunders says that fears of immigration trouble bring a “chilling effect” on international travel.

“I never thought I would see, you know, these stories,” he said. “There seems to be a boycott right now from Canadians wanting to travel to the U.S., because they hear all these stories in the news."

You can watch the full interview with U.S. immigration lawyer Len Saunders in the video player above.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ian Holliday