Note: she was on her way to a literacy conference in Milwaukee ...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-25/mem-fox-detained-at-los-angeles-airport-by-us-officials/8303366
Mem Fox, Australian author, gets apology after being wrongfully detained 
at LA airport


Australian author Mem Fox has received a written apology from the United 
States after what she said was a traumatic detention by immigration 
officials at Los Angeles Airport.

Fox, who was questioned by Customs and Border Protection officers for two 
hours earlier this month as she was on her way to Milwaukee to address a 
conference, said she collapsed and sobbed at her hotel after she was 
released.

She said the border agents appeared to have been given "turbocharged 
power" by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump to 
"humiliate and insult" a room full of people they detained to check visas.

That executive order was eventually halted by Federal Courts and it was 
expected a new order would be signed this week, designed to avoid the 
confusion caused by the original.

"I have never in my life been spoken to with such insolence, treated with 
such disdain, with so many insults and with so much gratuitous 
impoliteness," Fox said.

"The entire interview took place with me standing, with my back to a room 
full of people in total public hearing and view  it was disgraceful.
"I felt like I had been physically assaulted which is why, when I got to 
my hotel room, I completely collapsed and sobbed like a baby, and I'm 70 
years old."

Fox, whose books include classics such as Possum Magic and Ten Little 
Fingers and Ten Little Toes, said she was questioned about her visa 
status, even though she had travelled to the United States 116 times 
previously without incident.

"My heart was pounding so hard as I was waiting to be interviewed, because 
I was observing what was happening to everybody else in the room," she 
said.

"They accused me of coming in on the wrong visa and they were totally 
wrong about that.

"The person who interviewed me was heavy with weaponry, was totally 
dressed in black with the word 'police' in hand-sized letters across his 
chest."
Author complained and got 'charming' response

The author lodged a complaint with the Australian embassy in Washington, 
and later one with the United States embassy in Canberra to which she 
received an emailed letter of apology.

"I said any decent American would have been shocked to the core by what 
had happened, it was so dreadful," she said.

"And I had an absolutely charming letter from them within hours of my 
email hitting their desk," Fox said.

The author said she was unlikely to visit the United States again despite 
the friendliness of ordinary Americans.

"At the moment I'm in so much shock about it, I can't imagine going back 
to the states," she said.
"I'd hate not to go back to the states because it's been so good to me and 
Americans in general are not [like] the border police at LA airport."

She said the treatment of others in the airport holding room, including 
Iranians, Taiwanese and a Scandinavian parent with a small child, was just 
as poor, and all appeared to eventually have been released.

"I thought: 'How can human beings treat other vulnerable human beings in 
this fashion, in public, in full view of everybody?'

Embassy officials have a policy of not discussing individual cases due to 
privacy requirements.

Fox worried about Australian attitudes

Fox also said she feared Australia was heading down the same unwelcoming 
pathway as the US appeared to be.

"I'm very frightened that Australia will go the same way as America, with 
extremists in power, racist hatred, ghastly speech against decent people," 
she said.
"I have written a new book which is about, ironically, welcoming strangers 
to a strange land  Australia  and I wrote it because I perceived that 
Australia was losing its gorgeous warmth of character in our attitude to 
newcomers.

"The irony is that this happened to me at about the same time as I was 
about to publish this 'welcome to Australia' book."




On Fri, 24 Feb 2017, Loriene Roy wrote:

>
> Sharing as this may impact international guests.
> Loriene
>
>
>
> http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/accused-of-having-an-incorrect-visa-mem-fox-detained-by-immigration-officials-at-la-airport/news-story/aa712d3867d1509c52c3608798e19db5
>
>
>
>

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