← Back to context

Comment by zulban

9 months ago

Similar story out of Canada. Pretty white Canadian lady (usually an untouchable class of people) with good paperwork thrown in a pit for weeks:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-det...

10 comments

zulban

Reply
raydev  8 months ago

While her treatment is unjustifiable, her visa was revoked (again, not much justification for this) and then she continued to live in the US for months after it happened. Only after living in the US for months illegally was she detained.

It's like people who insist on using crosswalks without looking for oncoming traffic. You may be right, but you will also be dead. Follow the rules.

  • tim333  8 months ago

    Any link to where she lived in the US illegally? The only thing I see is

    >She was denied entry into the country while trying to make her way from Mexico to San Diego, California after her work visa was revoked back in November while traveling from Vancouver to Los Angeles.

    Presumably she wasn't in the US or she wouldn't have been trying to enter the US from Mexico.

    • raydev  8 months ago

      You can piece it together. The article conveniently leaves out exactly where she was staying for the months between visa revocation and re-entering the US.

      > Presumably she wasn't in the US or she wouldn't have been trying to enter the US from Mexico.

      She was likely doing what many folks do: cross the border briefly for the explicit purpose of getting documents refreshed. This is common and expected in many cases, but she was without a visa for months at this point. And she likely crossed from Mexico because it is close to where she was previously living. Again, this is common.

      The fact that she didn't cross back over from her home country of Canada immediately sets off alarm bells.

  • nikitaga  8 months ago

    That does not make sense... In November, her visa was revoked at the border, when trying to enter the US. At that point, she was obviously turned around back into Canada. Then later, she was detained when trying to enter the US from Mexico in 2025.

    So, how do you suggest she managed to enter the US after November in order to have remained there illegally? Did the CBP, who have just revoked her visa a few days/weeks prior, just let her in on a tourist visa? That does not sound very believable, even for the previous US administration.

    And what do you suggest her plan was? Previously she was on TN work visa. You seem to think that after having her TN visa revoked, she managed to get into the US on a 90-day tourist visa instead (thus working there illegally), which is why she needed to run for the border after 3 months, and why she was detained when trying to re-enter. But what kind of plan is that – to run for the border every 90 days after having your TN visa revoked. That is such an obvious recipe for failure, nobody who employs an immigration lawyer – like that lady – would have gone ahead with it.

    I've definitely seen other headlines overselling similar detention stories for rage bait, but I don't see much wiggle room in this case.

  • zulban  8 months ago

    "Show me the man and I'll show you the crime."

    If overnight, people suddenly start getting arrested and thrown in a pit for speeding, you shouldn't think "ah, they were breaking the law". If you agree there's not much justification for this, I don't even understand what point you're trying to make. Laws are not simple or black and white. They're often a huge contradictory mess. That's why you need flexibility, precedent, and most importantly humanity. Her family couldn't find her. No access to legal. Her treatment was psychotic. Period.

    Again, no idea what point you're trying to make here.

    • raydev  8 months ago

      I think deporting someone if they remain for months after their visa is revoked is perfectly acceptable. Ideally the person should be allowed to do it themselves in the few weeks after. By all appearances, she was capable of doing so and simply did not.

      Detaining someone indefinitely in inhumane conditions is not acceptable under any circumstances.

      It is also true that she could have avoided detention by leaving the country as soon as her visa was revoked. It doesn't matter whether revocation was reasonable at that point, because she is now in a country that is actively hostile toward her.

      Her visa was revoked in November. She obviously remained in the US, where she attempted to cross again at the Mexico border, because she was obviously still living and working in California all those months when she should have been back in Canada.

      It is not acceptable for the US to detain her; she also could have avoided it by following the rules, and others can avoid it too.

      That's my point.

  • spacemadness  8 months ago

    What are you even trying to say? There’s no point in saying anything past “her treatment was unjustifiable.” The rest doesn’t matter if you care about ethical treatment in the slightest.