No. 4, Vol. 6 Winter 2025
Brian Hotson, Editor, CWCR/RCCR
In 2016, at the beginning of the first Trump presidency, reaction to the possibilities of what might lay ahead produced a significant number of pronouncements and warnings. The French paper, Les Echos, for example, wrote of Trump in November 2016: “Racist, populist, male chauvinist, arrogant and unpredictable. We do not know what is most terrifying in the personality of Donald Trump.” We now know that he is a rapist and convicted felon. As I’ve written here before, Trump displays all the markers of a neo-fascist. His latest threats include challenges to the sovereignty of Canada (Tasker, 2024, December 11), as well as not ruling out military invasion of both Greenland (Shamim, 2025, January 9) and Panama (Role, 2024, December 25).
In 2016, when I sat on the IWCA board as a representative of CWCA/ACCR, I noted to the board that many IWCA members in Canada would not travel to the US for conferences during a Trump administration, especially those from BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ communities, as reported to me. The first Trump administration banned citizens from specific countries (see Trump, 2017, 2020)—countries Trump referred to as “shithole countries” (Al Jazeera, 2018, January 12)—which resulted in international students studying in Canada being detained at the US border (Kane, 2017, January 31) and being denied to board flights for academic conferences in the U.S. (Taylor & Geary, 2017, January 18), as examples. Travel to the US was not safe.
Once again, it is not safe to travel to the US. Those considering travel to Baltimore for the IWCA Collaborative@CCCC need to know what’s at stake.
Here’s why.
During the recent campaign, Trump said, using fascist rhetoric, that he stood for “Judeo-Christian civilization and values” and that he would “aggressively deport resident aliens with ‘jihadist sympathies’ and send immigration agents to ‘pro-jihadist demonstrations’ to identify violators,” targeting student protesters on U.S. campuses. In September, he announced plans to “seal” the U.S. border and reinstate the travel ban. He added, “We are not taking them [immigrants] from [terrorist] infested countries” (The Straits Times, 2024, September 19).
US colleges and universities are acting accordingly (Gross, 2025). In the face of another ban, in November, the University of Massachusetts, for example, “issued a travel advisory to its international students, faculty and staff, asking them to ‘strongly consider’ returning to campus from winter break before Mr Trump’s inaugural on January 5” (Nath, 2024, November 6). Other US universities and colleges have done the same, including UC Berkeley, Harvard, and Northeastern Universities. Students and faculty at Cornell University were told “that a travel ban involving the 13 nations Trump previously targeted ‘is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration,’” with Palestine, and possibly China and India, as additions (Ramer, 2024, November 27)
Last month, The Baltimore Banner, in a piece, Maryland colleges warn international students to return before Trump’s inauguration, writes that the University of Maryland (UMD), the site of the 2025 IWCA Collaborative@CCCCs, issued warnings to faculty and students. UMD advised its students “to return to the U.S. no later than January 19, 2025” (Wolfe, 2024, December 17). Nearby St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD, provides a similar warning: “Out of an abundance of caution, it is recommended that you make efforts to be back in the United State before January 20, 2025” (Wolfe, 2024, December 17).
Checks at the US border
Also last month, in the IWCA Collaborative@CCCCs announcement for its in-person 2025 conference at UMD, no mention was made of UMD’s travel warning, Trump’s possible travel ban, or other travel information critical to crossing into the US.
There are many accounts and news stories in the Canadian media since 2016 of detainment at the US border. What often isn’t made clear are traveller’s rights, or the suspension of rights, when crossing into the US. For example, anyone entering the US can have their phones and laptops opened and searched (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 2018, January 4). Canadian immigration lawyers warn,
In 2017, more than 30,000 phones and computers were inspected at the US border, an increase of 60% from the previous year. Refusing to provide a device’s password can cause the visitor to be denied entry. The contents of a device can also lead to the owner being refused admission. For example: photos of illegal drugs or behaviour, including marijuana consumption, can render the individual criminally inadmissible to the United States even if the activity was legal where the photo was taken. (Pilkington Law, 2025)
In 2017, US border officials detained and questioned a Canadian family entering the US. Confiscating their phones, and the adults were separated and questioned for 45 minutes and asked of their “views on U.S. President Donald Trump” (Rukavina, 2017, February 8). They were also asked,
“Which mosque do you go to? What is the name of the imam? How often do you go to the mosque? What kind of discussions do you hear in the mosque? Does the imam talk to you directly?”…
[One of the Canadians] said she was also asked about the deadly shooting at a mosque in Quebec City [in 2017] and if she knew any of the victims…
Border agents also asked her about Arabic videos on her phone. She said they were videos of daily prayers…
…after the questioning, [one of the Canadians] waited about another hour. The border agents returned and told her she was being denied entry.
“They said, ‘You’re not allowed to go to the United States because we found videos on your phone that are against us.’” (Rukavina, 2017, February 8)
The experience was troubling: “I felt humiliated, treated as if I was less than nothing. It’s as if I wasn’t Canadian” (Rukavina, 2017, February 8).
Writing centre practitioners and faculty require attendance at international conferences for career advancement and tenure and promotion. But, on the conference web page, there is no mention of a possible travel ban. No warning regarding possible detention or questioning, laptop or phone searches, or the possibility of violations of delegates’ human rights by the US border authorities.
This information needs to be front and centre, and in red, at the top of the web page.
Jan. 17, 2025
Note: I put no blame on the Collaborative organizers. These decisions and directions should be made the board level and relayed to the organizers.
References
Gross, H. (2025, January). N.J. colleges preparing for possible Trump travel ban. NJ.com. https://www.nj.com/mosaic/2025/01/nj-colleges-preparing-for-possible-trump-travel-ban.html
Kane, L. (2017, January 31). Trump’s travel ban having ‘profound’ impact on Canadian research, academics says. CTV News. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/trump-s-travel-ban-having-profound-impact-on-canadian-research-academics-says-1.3265718
Nath, S. (2024, November 26). US universities alert international students on Trump immigration crackdown. NDTV. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-universities-warn-foreign-students-to-be-back-on-campus-before-trumps-inaugural-heres-why-7107968
Nehme, R. (2017, May 10). Canadian universities shift recruitment efforts in the Trump era. University Affairs. https://universityaffairs.ca/news/canadian-universities-shift-recruitment-efforts-trump-era/
Pilkington Law. (2025). Denied Entry to USA from Canada. https://www.usentrywaiverlaw.ca/denied-entry-to-usa.php
Ramer, H. (2024, November 27). U.S. universities warn foreign students to return before Trump inauguration. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/trump-foreign-college-students-travel-bans-bc0fedb4be66ef509629d4dbfedd904d
Role, B. (2024, December 25). Why did Trump float takeovers of Greenland and the Panama Canal? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1lnzzd1zrmo
Rukavina, S. (2017, February 8). Canadian woman turned away from U.S. border after questions about religion. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/canadian-woman-turned-away-from-u-s-border-after-questions-about-religion-trump-1.3972019
Sánchez, A. (2024, November 30). Private prisons in US stand to cash in from Trump’s mass deportation plan. El País. https://english.elpais.com/usa/elections/2024-12-01/private-prisons-in-us-stand-to-cash-in-from-trumps-mass-deportation-plan.html
The Straits Times. (2024, September 19). Trump vows to bring back travel ban, bar refugees from Gaza. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/trump-vows-to-bring-back-travel-ban-bar-refugees-from-gaza
Tasker, J. P. (2024, December 11). Trump taunts Trudeau by calling him ‘governor’ of ‘a great state’. CBC News https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trump-trudeau-governor-great-state-canada-1.7406226
Taylor, J., & Geary, A. (2017, January 18). Iranian Winnipeggers turned away from flight to U.S. for academic conference. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/iranian-winnipeggers-turned-away-flight-us-1.3940643
Thanthong-Knight, R., & Mulima, M. (2024, December 10). Trudeau’s immigration U-turn hits Canada’s colleges in warning for economy. BNN Bloomberg. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/2024/12/10/immigration-whiplash-hits-canadas-colleges-in-warning-for-economy
Trump, D. J. (2017, January 27). Executive Order 13769: Protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States. Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/02/01/2017-02281/protecting-the-nation-from-foreign-terrorist-entry-into-the-united-states
Trump, D. J. (2017, March 6). Executive Order 13780: Protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States. Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/03/09/2017-04837/protecting-the-nation-from-foreign-terrorist-entry-into-the-united-states
Trump, D. J. (2017, September 24). Presidential Proclamation 9645: Enhancing vetting capabilities and processes for detecting attempted entry into the United States by terrorists or other public-safety threats. Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/09/27/2017-20899/enhancing-vetting-capabilities-and-processes-for-detecting-attempted-entry-into-the-united-states
Trump, D. J. (2020, January 31). Presidential Proclamation 9983: Improving enhanced vetting capabilities and processes for detecting attempted entry into the United States by terrorists or other public-safety threats. Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/02/05/2020-02422/improving-enhanced-vetting-capabilities-and-processes-for-detecting-attempted-entry-into-the-united
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (2018, January 4). CBP Directive No. 3340-049A: Border search of electronic devices. https://www.cbp.gov/document/directives/cbp-directive-no-3340-049a-border-search-electronic-devices
Wolfe, E. (2024, December 20). International students urged to return to US campuses before Trump inauguration. The Baltimore Banner. https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/higher-education/international-students-trump-travel-ban-LSKDB2PV75CF7E6AKL3D4GMMVI/