Two young German travelers expecting to have the time of their lives on their Hawaii trip instead had to face handcuffs, jail time, and deportation. The incident highlighted the risks international visitors may face at US borders.
The story of the ordeal Charlotte Pohl, 19, and Maria Lepere, 18, faced was first reported in Germany’s Ostsee-Zeitung newspaper. The German Foreign Office confirmed that it was involved in the case, and provided consular support after the two women were detained in Honolulu.
Charlotte Pohl and Maria Lepere’s ordeal
Pohl and Lepere arrived in Honolulu from Auckland, planning to explore Hawaii before heading to California and Costa Rica. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) became suspicious of their flexible travel style, including the fact that they had not pre-booked lodging for their planned five-week stay in Hawaii.
The women were accused of potential illegal work intentions even though they had ESTA travel authorisation. For border officials screening travellers without fixed plans, this is not an uncommon concern. The German Foreign Office says that ESTA approval does not guarantee entry to the United States, as the final say is always left to border officials when travellers arrive.
Pohl and Lepere said they were questioned for hours at Honolulu Airport, and then placed in handcuffs and loaded into a transport vehicle. They were then taken to a deportation detention facility.
The women said that at the detention facility, they were subjected to full-body scans, strip searches, and issued green prison uniforms. They had to spend the night in a holding cell with long-term detainees, including people accused of serious criminal offences.
They were forced to sleep on thin, moldy mattresses, and use rudimentary toilets. Guards warned them to avoid expired food.
Pohl and Lepere were brought back to Honolulu Airport in handcuffs the next morning, and subsequently deported. At their request, they were sent to Japan, and not Germany, avoiding a longer return trip to New Zealand.
United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, recently tried to ease European travellers’ concerns about visiting the US. “If you’re not coming to the United States to join a Hamas protest, or to come here and tell us about how right Hamas is, or…stir up conflict on our campuses and create riots in our streets and vandalize our universities, then you have nothing to worry about,” he said.
In several cases, travellers may be denied entry if they do not have clear lodging plans, a well-defined itinerary, or proof of sufficient funds. The ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) lets citizens of some countries travel to the US for short stays without a visa, but ESTA approval permits travel only to a US port of entry. There, the border officials decide whether the travellers will be granted entry. Germany’s updated travel advisory now warns that “entry to the United States is at the sole discretion of U.S. border authorities.”
