Canadian leisure travel is down 20% already and I can only assume that from Europe is even lower. Delta Airlines has had to tell their stockholders (off record) to expect a very bad year after predicting the opposite in January.

So, US citizens who are not POC or whose social media, laptops, cell phones, and other devices are not deemed anti-administration will probably continue to pass through with zero issues. But, I have gotten warnings from everyone from AAA to AARP on how to protect oneself against the latter, so this is no longer some Minority Report film plotline, and I feel no discomfort discussing what I'd have guessed to be silly paranoia and conspiracy theory even a year ago.

I hope you and others traveling will keep us apprised at what you are experiencing AND witnessing.

I can’t imagine what things will be like for an Otavaleño that I met on the streets of Boston last summer. He was a full-blooded Quichua from Ecuador busking with his pan pipes and haunting Andean folk music. During a break, I asked him in Spanish where he was from. When he said “Ecuador,” I immediately guessed his home town, which was Otavalo. He was stunned, wondering how some random Gringo on the street in Boston could ever guess what town he was from in rural Ecuador.

But not all of us gringos are totally ignorant of the world outside of our borders, and a few of us are even aware that Otavalo is a famous home town to street buskers of Andean music, and that they end up on street corners in many lands, especially in North America and Europe. We probably talked for over half an hour. He is exactly the kind of person I am proud to welcome as a visitor, and appalled that he is likely to be the kind of guy that would now get refused a visa.

I am waiting to hear more horror stories from acquaintances who get harassed or detained (hoping my wife will not be one of them this year). I’m sure there will be some. I don’t know which of my EU, Canadian or East Asian colleagues, if any, are canceling plans to come to the USA this summer. If they are, I don’t blame them. If not, I hope they are not harassed or worse. My worst treatment at an American airport was at the hands of a despicable team of American Airlines employees, whose airline I will never fly again.

I’m sure there will be one or more ugly incidents to report in the near future. This past Friday just happened not to be one if them.

Americans are not total a'holes-- as well as disinterested in the rest of the world.

Be safe in your travels. I'd imagine we are engendering at least a modicum of disdain among Europeans and others right now--even while most undoubtedly know the score...

And Europeans, having gone through the 20th century, are far less inclined to ask, "how could you let this happen?" They know from their own experience: when too many people are too complacent, the ones who thought, "it could never come to that!" look on in dismayed amazement when it does, too, come to "that."

For decades, I have been, next to my day job, of course, been using what language skills I have to impress upon Europeans, as well as resident Africans and Asians, that we Americans who dissent forcefully from our dark, ugly side (i.e. the Republicans) are at least as full of conviction in our views as the extremist right, even if, as Unamuno mentioned when addressing the Spanish Fascists in 1936, we do not always have "la fuerza bruta" (brute force) equal to theirs to counter it to the extent we wish. Most in Europe understand.

Hope your visit goes smoothly.

And best of luck to any foreign visitors.

He now has a legal residence in Poland, EU. I’ll let you know if he is given a hard time or not (remind me if I forget! April 24th or so).

When it comes to the international returns / customs area. The main tip I have is to be super alert and pay attention to all orders that are barked out because there is zero tolerance for confusion / ADHD (and that was before trump's anti-immigrant / anti-visitor crackdown).

My wife has been detained twice in Atlanta by idiot CBP agents. The first time by some younger guy looking to prove how tough or thorough he was. He claimed she was planning to overstay her allotted 90 days (out of 180) that she could stay visa-free. We (I wouldn’t leave her side) were detained in a waiting area for an hour, and then called before a panel of three uniforms who examined her passport and tickets, saw she was within the rules, apologized and let her go. The second time, the CBP guy was himself an immigrant (Dutch Caribbean, from his appearance, accent and nameplate. This jerk claimed that my wife’s fingerprints “didn’t match,” despite our insistence that she had not replaced her fingers since the last time she had entered the USA. We had to wait 45 minutes, got called before the three man panel, all of whom looked at the “problem,” rolled their eyes, and apologized profusely for the first agent’s stupid attitude before sending us on our way. Atlanta for us is usually either smooth as silk or like walking in hot coals.

searched, frisked, questioned, "taken aside", the last time I was taken "Downstairs" at Heathrow. Once I thought customs at Tullamarine in Melbourne wasn't even going to let me in.

I can't even imagine what is going to happen when I fly to England this winter. Or back in the spring.

It happened to me twice in Amsterdam and once in Frankfurt on the way to the USA. The one time the TSA came close to harassing me was at Logan Airport in Boston when I was on my way to Dallas. Single male passenger with a beard, must be Taliban, right?. After the security check, as TSA guy approached me and said I had been chosen for a random (suuure it was) additional security check.

But I knew immediately what was going on, and these guys are nothing but bureaucrats trained by other bureaucrats. They are told what to expect (objections and protest) and how to react (with firmness and force if necessary). So, what does one do in this situation? Give them the opposite of what they are expecting. I immediately assumed the voice of a Southern Drill Sergeant from a Marine boot camp, and said, as if I were the one giving orders, "alright, sir, let's get it done!" The TSA guy was so surprised, he ran a hand up my leg while I stood rigid and cooperative, and he quickly said, OK, thank you, and got lost.