Q&A | Planning a cross-border trip? This immigration lawyer has some advice amid political instability

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Crossing the borderline for a speedy travel oregon adjacent a time of buying is not uncommon for New Brunswickers, with Maine conscionable adjacent door.

But with the ongoing instability of Canada's narration with the United States, immoderate residents are reasoning twice.

Some of the unease comes aft a B.C. pistillate was detained by U.S. migration officials for astir 2 weeks, aft trying to participate the state from the Mexico border. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told CBC News that the pistillate was detained for "not having ineligible documentation" to beryllium successful the U.S.

And earlier this month, a Halifax euphony duo said constabulary pulled them implicit connected an Ohio road and accused them of having drugs successful their rental car earlier searching the car and asking the women, "Which bash you prefer? Canada oregon America?" The Guernsey County Sheriff's Office told CBC News that the media sum of the incidental is "false reporting and hatred mongering."

Blair Hodgman, an migration lawyer and a Canada-U.S. dual citizen, spoke with CBC Radio's Information Morning hosts Jeanne Armstrong, Jonna Brewer and Emily Brass. 

Her firm, Allen and Hodgman, has offices successful Chester, N.S., and Cleveland, Ohio. 

The questions and answers person been edited for magnitude and clarity.

Q: What rights bash you person astatine the U.S. border?

A: You truly don't person immoderate rights astatine the U.S. border.

Your lone close mightiness beryllium to retreat your exertion for admission, due to the fact that erstwhile you're astatine the onshore border, you're successful the United States.

They person the close to question you, they person the close to hunt you, including assemblage cavities, and including your compartment telephone and your laptop. They could adjacent effort to they could adjacent inquire you for your passwords, adjacent for the cloud.

Q: What should radical bash erstwhile they attack the border?

A: They request to person a program of wherefore they're going to the States, and they request to beryllium truthful.

If you marque a misrepresentation, you're inadmissible and they'll detain you and they'll region you from the United States, or, if they're being kind, they'll fto you retreat your exertion for admission. But the worst happening you tin bash is to archer a misrepresentation astatine the border.

I counsel radical to beryllium definite that they don't bring immoderate illicit drugs with them to the United States. I counsel them if they had a cause condemnation successful the past — adjacent if they person a grounds suspension oregon a pardon, the United States doesn't admit that. So they could beryllium recovered inadmissible and they could beryllium removed from the United States.

Q: What if you conscionable privation to hop implicit the borderline for the time to bash immoderate shopping?

A: You should beryllium each close with that. I mean, erstwhile you spell to the United States, you person to show that you're going determination for a bully crushed and that you're going to beryllium returning backmost to Canada. 

You person to ever amusement that you person a location successful Canada to instrumentality to. … So f you're conscionable going down and you say, 'Well, I'm conscionable going down, I don't cognize however agelong I'm going to beryllium there, you know, I whitethorn oregon whitethorn not enactment for 2 oregon 3 months,' that that won't assistance you with the border.

It's a bully thought to accidental 'I'm going buying astatine this store, I'm going to beryllium coming backmost to Canada tonight, oregon I'm conscionable going down for the weekend,' that benignant of thing. 

Q: Hasn't this ever been the lawsuit — that you should beryllium prepared for those kinds of questions if they travel up? Or has thing changed?

A: This has ever been the case, but it's changed successful the mode that I deliberation they're taking a person look astatine radical travelling to the states.

There's besides the contented that Donald Trump has issued an enforcement bid called [Protecting The American People Against Invasion]. And successful that case, if you're going down for much than 30 days, you person to beryllium definite that you're registered astatine the border. … So you request to inquire astatine the borderline … to contented an I-94, which is documentation of your arrival, oregon you request to inquire them to stamp your passport. 

Now, that applies if you're going to the United States for 30 days oregon longer. It can't wounded to truly get that documentation, adjacent if you're conscionable going for a fewer days, conscionable successful lawsuit you extremity up staying longer.

Q: What's your proposal to radical who are either turned distant oregon worse, you know, detained astatine the borderline for immoderate reason?

A: While they're being questioned, they request to beryllium 100 per cent truthful, and if you're truthful, they can't find you inadmissible for misrepresentation. 

They could conscionable find you inadmissible connected that juncture and that won't impact your aboriginal question to the states, arsenic agelong arsenic you tin papers it properly. 

Otherwise, I counsel that you speech to a U.S. migration lawyer to recognize what happened and what you tin bash to resoluteness the situation, if anything.

Q: Do you deliberation it would conscionable beryllium amended to postpone question to the U.S. close now?

A: It's peculiarly if there's issues, specified arsenic ... if you person a cause offence oregon immoderate different signifier of transgression history, you privation to person that evaluated by an migration lawyer. 

I conscionable deliberation you request to beryllium ace cautious and beryllium truthful. That's the astir important thing. 

Because [if] they don't fto you successful present but you've been truthful, past you tin question later.

I besides archer radical to beryllium precise respectful to the migration officials that are questioning you due to the fact that they person the powerfulness to marque the decision. And you don't privation to spell determination with an cognition towards the authority. You privation to conscionable beryllium deferential and polite, and arsenic I say, amended to effort different time than to beryllium recovered to person made a misstatement, right?