Phones of travellers to US being checked in Dublin Airport

The chair of Democrats Abroad has said she’s aware that travellers to the US have been ‘aggressively questioned’ at Dublin Airport in recent weeks as to the nature of their visit.

It comes as the US State Department this week refused to stand behind its earlier claims to Extra.ie that the phones of US-bound travellers weren’t being checked by immigration officials at Dublin for anti-Donald Trump content.

The Financial Times also reported yesterday that visitor numbers to the US from Ireland, Norway and Germany, among others, had fallen more than 20 per cent in March on the same month
last year.

Democrats Abroad chair, Patti Shields, said expat US citizens who are planning on returning home soon are sharing advice among each other about how to ‘navigate immigration’.

‘They’re talking not bringing your laptop with you or any devices that have your social media on it so as not to catch the eye or the ire of any immigration officials,’ she said.

‘I know of two very frequent travellers to the States who travel back and forward all the time through Dublin who received a very aggressive kind of scolding and questioning by immigration officials in the last couple of weeks.

‘There’s plenty of stories out there to say that whether you’re an American citizen or not, this is something to be concerned about. It’s well within their rights to search your phone.’

Dublin Airport Terminal 2. GETTY IMAGES

This week, US immigration authorities confirmed they will look at social media accounts and deny visas or residence permits to people who post content considered anti-Semitic by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Posts defined as anti-Semitic will include social media activity in support of militant groups classified by the United States as terrorists, including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi insurgents.

The move comes after the Trump administration has controversially cancelled visas for students inside the United States, where the First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, on the orders of the Homeland Security Secretary.

A Homeland Department spokeswoman told reporters in the US this week: ‘It has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for anti-Semitic violence and terrorism – think again. You are not welcome here.’

Two weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security emphatically denied to Extra.ie that US immigration officials at Dublin airport are checking the mobile phones of travellers to the US for anti-Trump content.

U.S. President Donald Trump. GETTY IMAGES

‘These reports are categorically false. Any traveller entering the US is subject to customs border patrol inspection,’ said Commissioner Hilton Beckham. ‘Customs border control follows strict policies and directives when it comes to searching electronic media.

‘These searches are rare, highly regulated, and have been used in identifying and combating serious crimes, including terrorism, smuggling, human trafficking, and visa fraud.

‘Any claims of politically motivated searches are completely unfounded.’

This week, Mr Beckham refused to answer calls or emails. Meanwhile, Ms Shields says she herself is apprehensive about travelling back to her homeland soon. ‘I’m actually going back to the States later this month,’ she said.

‘As an American, I’ve never in my life had to think twice about going back home. But I am thinking about it now, given the fact that I’m chair of Democrats Abroad, and I certainly have raised my voice and my concerns about the present administration

‘There are people, friends and associates questioning my resolve and asking why I would even go at this stage?

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.