I’ve posted many jokes and barbed comments about Donald Trump on social media – X and Instagram. I cannot stand him, but I do like holidays in America. I hear US border officials may soon check social media to see if you have been anti-American. Will I be allowed in?
Pete Smith, via email
Possibly not – as incredible as that may sound.
But given that so many people poke fun at the US President, not everyone in such a situation is going to be turned away. And America also does not want to destroy its tourism industry.
The background to this is that, earlier this month, Donald Trump announced that US immigration officials may be given powers – under a yet to be ratified proposal – to check back over five years of each visitor’s social media, to prevent the ‘wrong people’ entering America.
Adding clarification, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has stated that anyone applying for an ESTA, an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation – effectively a visa waiver for 90 days of tourist travel – will in future need to make a mandatory disclosure of social media during applications. Currently, travellers are asked to enter such details optionally.
Furthermore – and rather extraordinarily – applicants will also be requested to submit ‘high value data’ when it becomes ‘feasible’ to collect it.
This will include telephone numbers from the past five years, the dates and places of birth of family members, plus business emails covering the previous decade.
Donald Trump wants to stop the ‘wrong people’ from entering the US, though how workable his plan is remains to be seen
US Customs officials could be given the right to access your social media posts
The proposal regarding social media disclosures could come into effect as soon as February, with ‘high value data’ requests later. However, Mr Trump’s order may be delayed or even blocked by the courts, so it could take much longer.
The CBP says it is within its rights to delve into social media and check phone numbers and emails as it will be ‘protecting citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes’, as outlined in President Trump’s Executive Order 14161.
How all of this will work in practice is unknown. It will, of course, be a lengthy process to trawl through five years of social media, especially if you are on many platforms. How on earth tourists will be able to do this and present the results within ESTA applications is unclear.
David Ellis, an expert on digital behaviour at the University of Bath, believes the only way the CBP could examine all this is by using AI, as manual checks are ‘never going to happen’. He also suspects that ‘specific queries’ will be sought, such as expressing support for US-designated terrorist organisations such as Hamas or Hezbollah.
It is worth noting that by declaring your social media on an ESTA application you would effectively be giving immigration officials the legal right to snoop on you – so it may be sensible to apply for an ESTA now.
I’ve had skin cancer surgery to remove facial growths, which has slightly altered my face’s shape. Do I need to change my passport photo?
James Davis, via email
Not if you are identifiable to a stranger from your photo. If not, reapply for a new passport using a new photo.
