John Carlos BaezThis is a somewhat different case. Tourists from Germany can generally visit the US for up to 90 days without a visa. But this one, Lucas Sielaff, made the mistake of driving to Tijuana, Mexico with his partner to get medical treatment for her dog. When they came back, he had trouble understanding the border control officer questioning him. He gave a muddled answer and got taken to an interrogation room.
After more than an hour of questioning, he was denied re-entry to the U.S. and was chained to a bench along with other travelers.
Outside, his partner was trying to get answers from officials. In response, she says, they searched her car. When she raised objections, two ICE officers detained her and took her to a separate room, where she was subjected to a humiliating body search.
“For the first time in my life, I’m in handcuffs,” she said. “As they’re walking me into a building, they’re twisting my arms.”
After the body search, she, too, was chained to a bench for a time before being released.
Lucas Sielaff was held at the border post for two more days, sleeping on a bench under a Mylar blanket, and then transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center. For two weeks, he shared a cell with eight other people. Eventually he was deported on a flight that cost him $2,744.
Something similar happened to another German tourist to the US, Jessica Brösche. She too made the mistake of going to Mexico and trying to get back into the US. She was held for 46 days.
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