Montrealer heading to Donald Trump inauguration turned away at border
‘I think it’s a shame,” says Sasha Dyck, who was carpooling to the U.S. when ordered to turn back
Dyck said that he and his fellow travellers told the border agents they were going to Washington, D.C., to take part in Saturday’s women’s rights march, an event where hundreds of thousands are expected to attend.
.. Dyck says they were then held for several hours, fingerprinted and had their cellphones examined.
.. Dyck said the agents did not say why they were denied entry, but told them that if they tried to cross the border again this weekend, they would be arrested.
.. “I think it’s a shame. I think the U.S. has historically been a very open country — open to other ideas or open to other people. Perhaps we’re seeing the start of them closing in on themselves.”
Dyck said he remembers a completely different mood when he went to Washington for Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009.
“At that point, the border guard said, ‘Come on in!’ It was open arms. They were so happy to celebrate with the world. It’s going to be a very different feeling this time.”