Kiwi fears rise over Trump-era US border crackdown – The Elephant

The Elephant is a new online video series that tackles the conversations New Zealanders often avoid. It dives into big, uncomfortable questions, looking beyond the echo chambers in search of a fearless and honest debate. This week, in episode eight, hosts Miriama Kamo and Mark Crysell ask if President Donald Trump’s new hard-line immigration and security policies are putting New Zealanders off travelling to the United States.

New Zealanders are thinking twice about travelling to the United States, as concerns escalate that political views and online activity could mean trouble at the border. 

A new episode of The Elephant, presented by Mark Crysell and Miriama Kamo, hears from travellers and academics who say the Trump administration’s hard-line approach to immigration and national security is creating real anxiety for Kiwis.

Travel to the US from New Zealand has dropped by about 10% this year, according to the US National Travel and Tourism Office. House of Travel CEO Dave Coombes says politics is now a factor “for a smaller percentage of travellers”, though he notes declines from countries like Canada have been “far larger” in what amounts to a protest over US policy.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has issued updated guidance warning that devices, including laptops and phone, may be searched on arrival in the US. MFAT said 38 New Zealanders have required consular assistance at US borders since November last year, compared with just nine the previous year.

There are growing concerns that activism or criticism of the Trump administration online could be treated as a threat. Professor Van Jackson, a former Obama administration official now teaching at Victoria University of Wellington, says any digital trace of support for Palestinian rights or student protests in the US “is grounds for being detained at the border and interrogated”.

Australian writer Alistair Kitchen experienced that first-hand. He was stopped at Los Angeles Airport in June and questioned for 12 hours over blog posts he had written about pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University. He says officials later used a trace of legally purchased cannabis in New York as a “pretext” to deport him for what he believes was speech-related grounds.

“It was clearly enough to raise some flags in the US government,” Kitchen says.

New Zealand academics are on edge too. Both the University of Auckland and the University of Otago have issued advisories to staff travelling to the US. Several scholars told The Elephant off-camera they’ve cancelled research-related trips because they fear expressing political views, even in a New Zealand context, could put them at risk.

Zane Wedding (Ngāti Kuri, Ngāti Pikiao), an environmental and indigenous rights activist, says the situation is “about the freedom of speech that people have as a person, and they don’t feel safe to go into that country because of their viewpoints”.

However, Simon Hankinson from the conservative Heritage Foundation rejects suggestions of widespread targeting and says the number of Kiwis having trouble at the border is insignificant compared to the tens of thousands who travel to the US without problems. He argues the US is simply enforcing laws already in place.

“If you come to my house and kick my dog and insult my wife, I’m going to kick you out. Those are my rules,” he says.

Watch, listen, and join the conversation – new episodes drop every Thursday across digital, social, and broadcast platforms. The Elephant is made with the support of NZ On Air.