As Trump Broadens Crackdown, Focus Expands to Legal Immigrants and Tourists

THE NEW YORK TIMES: U.S. border officials are using more aggressive tactics at ports of entry as the administration scrutinizes green card and visa holders who have expressed opposition to its policies.

U.S. immigration agents wearing masks arrested a Georgetown University academic outside his home in Virginia. They detained two German tourists for weeks when they tried to enter the country legally through the southern border. They knocked on doors at Columbia University apartments, searching for pro-Palestinian protesters.

The Trump administration has opened a new phase in its immigration agenda, one that goes well beyond the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

U.S. border officials are using more aggressive tactics, which the administration calls “enhanced vetting,” at ports of entry to the United States, prompting American allies like Germany to update their travel advisories. At the same, the administration is targeting legal immigrants who have expressed views that the government believes threaten national security and undermine foreign policy.

The tactics have unnerved foreign tourists and sent a chill through immigrant communities in the United States, who say they are being targeted for speech — not for breaking any laws. » | Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Tyler Pager and Hamed Aleaziz | Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamed Aleaziz reported from Washington, and Tyler Pager from New York. | Friday, March 21, 2025

America Issues Travel Alert over Fears of Al-Qaeda Plot to Target Tourists

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: America has issued a worldwide travel alert after warning of an al Qaeda plot to attack public transport or tourist sites.

The US State Department said the risk of a terror attack was particularly high in the Middle East and North Africa between now and the end of August.

It followed a warning from America on Thursday of an al Qaeda plot to attack its embassies in Muslim countries.

Britain changed its travel advice for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf yesterday in the wake of the latest alert, telling diplomats in Arabian capitals to exercise vigilance until the Eid festival, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Thursday.

In a statement last night, the US State Department officials said American citizens living or travelling overseas should be aware of a potential al-Qaeda attack either in or emanating from the Arabian peninsula.

"Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," the department said.

The attacks are seen as occurring in or emanating from the Arabian peninsula, according to the statement, and "may involve public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure." » | Damien McElroy, and Raf Sanchez in Washington | Friday, August 02, 2013