WASHINGTON — A group of Canadians said they were denied entry into the United States on Thursday after they told border agents that they were going to the Women’s March on Washington.
Sasha Dyck, a Montreal nurse who once ran for that city’s governing council, said border agents at Champlain, N.Y., asked the group of eight, which included French citizens, whether they planned to disrupt President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Mr. Dyck said he planned to turn his back to Mr. Trump’s motorcade but that they had no intention of causing problems.
“I’m a democratic socialist,” Mr. Dyck said. “I’m not an anarchist. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Many of my friends are.”
When they learned of the group’s travel plans, U.S. Customs and Border Protection asked them to pull out of the traffic lane, Mr. Dyck said. The two cars were then searched and everyone’s phones were examined. Each person in the group had their fingerprints and photos taken.
The agents turned them away and warned them that they would be arrested if they tried to come back over the weekend. Mr. Dyck, who took part in Montreal’s version of the women’s march Saturday, understood that it was OK if they sought to return to the U.S. today.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials declined to confirm Mr. Dyck’s account, saying they couldn’t discuss individual cases due to privacy laws. An official said in an email that border agents deny entry to thousands of people each year on grounds of inadmissibility, including intent to engage in prohibited activities.
But the official, who spoke on the the condition of anonymity, said attending a protest march was not a prohibited activity.
Another Canadian, Joseph Decunha, told The Guardian that he also was turned away at the border after border agents asked whether they were “anti- or pro-Trump.”
“It felt like, if we had been pro-Trump, we would have absolutely been allowed entry,” he told The Guardian.
British national Joe Kroese and a Canadian were turned away from the same border crossing on Thursday as they traveled with two American friends.
Although the two Americans were granted entry, agents reportedly told Mr. Kroese, who is studying at McGill University, that he’ll now need a visa to travel across the border. The Canadian was told not to try to cross into the U.S. again for a couple of months.
Canadian actress Michelle Morgan, however, said in a Twitter post that she and a group of women bound for the Washington march were allowed to cross the border.
“The whole bus is celebrating,” she tweeted.
Mr. Dyck said his group wasn’t asked any political questions, only where they were going. He said the group was made up primarily of young professional and students. They didn’t have any signs or masks that would indicate any potential trouble, he said.
“We didn’t look very out there, I don’t think,” he said. “I can tell you I don’t consider myself a national security threat.”
About a million people cross into the U.S. from 330 land, air and sea ports around the country each day. On average, just 600 people — less than 1 percent — are denied access daily, according to Customs and Border Protection, for “a varied list of reasons that include prohibited activities or intent as well as national security concerns.”
The Washington Post contributed.
First Published: January 23, 2017, 5:14 a.m.