Bounded, detained for weeks and eventually deported, two tourists trying to enter the United States recently tangled in a system to deal with President Trump's vast restrictions on entry and mass deportations.
The 46-day case of Jessica Brösche, which Lucas Sielaff held for 16 days, and the narrative of immigration officials rudely handling them has caught the headlines in Germany to show what it means to catch on the wrong side of the White House immigration policy.
Visitors from most European countries, including Germany, usually enjoy visa-free travel to the United States for up to 90 days. However, Mr. Sierav and Ms. Brush stopped at the San Isidro border crossing between San Isidro and Tijuana, respectively, and were denied entry and taken to a crowded detention centre based on their own narrative and friends’ narrative.
Mr. Sierav said he was rejected for translation and it was difficult to understand what was happening to him. Ms. Brush’s friend said she was imprisoned in isolation for nine days. According to them, both were flew back to Germany without a clear understanding of why they were detained in the first place.
“Sometimes I just wake up because I have nightmares and what's going on with this situation,” Sielaff, 25, said in an interview. “And I just want to go for a walk and calm down.”
Becky Burke, 28, a visitor family from the UK, said she was detained in Washington State for more than two weeks and was also stuck in the system, but was not sure why.
U.S. immigration and customs enforcement, known as ICE, did not respond to requests to comment on its case Thursday.
Ms. Brush was detained at the border on January 25, a fundraising event released by friends for the lobby. She is traveling on an electronic system with a travel authorization or ESTA trip, which is available for tourists from countries that do not require a visa to travel to the United States but still need to announce the destination of her visit. She told German newspaper Bild that she had completed her authorization and planned to enter the United States after spending a week in Tijuana.
At the border, officials marked her document issues, according to the online petition.
Ms. Brösche, a 29-year-old tattoo artist, was unable to accept an interview. But Nikita Lofving, a friend she talked with, said in an interview that she believes officials saw tattoo devices in Ms. Brush’s suitcase and may have concluded that she planned to work in the United States, violating the terms of the free visa.
She was taken to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. Authorities told her that she would be detained for “a few days” according to the online fundraising event, but “a series of shocking events that followed: Brösche was in solitary confinement for nine days after being denied entry.”
Friends said she stayed in the center for more than six weeks and her case was clearly lost in the backlog of border law enforcement.
“It's just that the sheer fact that she didn't know what happened drove her crazy,” Ms. Lovewin said. “She was almost unable to sleep there. She cried at night.”
Ms. Brush returned to Germany on Wednesday.
Ms. Lovewin said: “It will take several days for her to recover, but she wants to speak out loud when she is fed and sleeping.
Mr. Sierraf said he traveled to the United States on January 27 to meet with American psychologist Lennon Tyler, who lives in Las Vegas. Three weeks later, they drove to Tijuana for medical treatment with Dr. Taylor's dog, but when they tried to return on February 18, they did not go beyond the border checkpoint.
He said he tried to hear border control officials ask him and gave a chaotic answer. He and Dr. Taylor said the officer asked about his place of residence, suggesting he had been living illegally in the United States, not just visiting, and then being questioned.
He said that after Mr. Sierav was tied to the interrogation room, his repeated requests for German translation were rejected. He said the written report of his interrogation did not accurately reflect what he said or even raised his questions.
“I said, I don't live here, I have to go back to Germany 90 days ago, and they didn't even listen to me,” Mr. Sierav said.
After more than an hour of inquiry, he was denied reentering the United States and was tied to a bench with other travelers.
Dr. Taylor said in an interview outside that she also tried to get answers from officials. In response, they searched for her car, and when she raised her objection, two bulky ice officers detained her and took her to a separate room where she experienced a humiliating body search.
“This is the first time in my life,” she said. “They were twisting my arms as they took me into a building.”
She said she was also locked on the bench after a physical search and was released, then asked several times, “Why am I detained? Is this legal? Can you do this to American citizens?”
When he was taken to the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of Mr. Sierraf, the last time she met. Her lawyer said Dr. Taylor has now begun civil lawsuits for detention.
“I put my arms to him and we were crying in our eyes,” Dr. Taylor said in an interview. “I said, I'm going to find a lawyer. I promise, I'm going to let you out.”
Mr. Sierav was held at the border post for two days, sleeping on a bench under a thin-film blanket, and then transferred to the Ota Mesa Detention Centre. He said there were two weeks there, he shared a cell with eight other people and waited for his food in a microwave shared by more than one person.
He said the only way to communicate with the ice sheet agents assigned to him was through the tablets shared among the prisoners – but he didn't know who those agents were.
“I asked a lot of people if they knew who my Ice Officer was,” he said in an interview. “I don't even know who that was.”
Dr. Taylor calls immigration authorities every day, she hires lawyers who also call them, she conducts news media interviews and repeatedly contacts the German consulate. Finally, last week, Mr. Sierav was allowed to voluntarily deported, a flight he spent $2,744.
“My lawyers say interrupt them until they let him go,” Dr. Taylor said. “That's what Lucas and I did. We just make ourselves annoying.”
