When Alexander, an Asian research scientist at an American university, was preparing for a work trip to Brazil, his preparations took an unusual turn: he consulted his lawyer, brought a burner phone and wore a blank portable computer. Once his work was completed, he uploaded his data to the cloud and then cleaned the machine before flying home. “They advised me to have zero data on my devices,” he said. It was “extraordinarily harmful.”
With Donald Trump in the White House, many corporate executives, academics and government officials in Europe and in other places they are approaching trips to the United States with a more often associated level of precaution with jurisdictions of greater risk such as China and some countries in the Middle East.
The strictest immigration application and the most aggressive border evaluations, which may include the search and even copy of the data of travelers devices and, sometimes, denying the entrance, are inciting organizations to reevaluate the risks and protocols even even in routine work trips. The contacts, emails, messages and publications in social networks could be subject to inspection, immigration lawyers said.
According to the Trump Administration, the number of border searches for January in mid -May has already exceeded those registered in the first half of 2024, 10 percent more year after year, according to customs and border protection of the United States, the Federal Agency.
Alexander, who, like other people who contributed to this article, asked to remain anonymous due to security concerns, is emblematic of change. “I am an immigrant, not American citizen, who works in climate change, gathered with interested parties such as unions and academics in Brazil, a country led by a leftist government … All this can be turned against you,” he said.
The officials of their university distrust a possible reaction from the Trump administration, said they would not provide legal assistance if they found border problems and advised him not to leave the country. The legal advisor that he contracted personally gave a clear warning, telling him that the border agents were in the mode of: “Find me the man and we will find the crime.”
Uncertainty follow Trump’s Executive Order of January 20which aimed to establish additional research and detection processes for foreigners seeking to enter the US. And those that are already based there. He also laid the foundations for new travel restrictions and a review of existing visas.
Hilton Beckham assistant commissioner, Customs and border protection of the USA, told FT: “CBP search numbers are consistent with increases since 2021, and less than 0.01 percent of travelers have their devices sought … the statements that CBP is looking for more electronic means due to the change of administration.”
She said that searches played a “critical” national security role and “accusations that political beliefs trigger inspections or movements are foundation and irresponsible.”
However, American universities include Duke and Columbia They are among those who advise international staff and students who do not leave the country unless they are absolutely necessary. This followed a series of Arrests and deportations They have shaken trust, even among people who have valid visas or green cards.
Last month, the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio fixed The pro-Palestinian and graduate activist of Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil, is specifically deportable due to its “beliefs, statements or associations” that would compromise the foreign policy interests of the United States.
The European Commission has issued telephone numbers with basic laptops and portable computers to some personnel members destined for the United States to avoid the risk of espionage. The Financial Times reported that the commissioners and senior officials traveling to the FMI spring meetings and the World Bank last month received the new orientation.
Companies are also taking quick measures: many seek a new legal advice for employees traveling to the US. To work. Others are altering the plans and, in some cases, advising against trips.
Elizabeth Nanton, leader of the United States immigration practice and KPMG Law in Canada, said that although the vast majority of travelers found no problem, companies were preparing staff to the United States for possible questions and advising them what to do if their devices were recorded. Customers ask “what could happen, what could they expect.” She said that several clients were reassessing their IT policies to analyze what data personnel should carry out on their devices.
No matter how many times a non -American citizen has entered the country, companies must deal with each case as “a new determination of admissibility,” Nanton added. She has advised companies to work with immigration specialists in case of US trips.
Some companies are updating their travel orientation for the USA. An inverter based in the United Kingdom in a large asset manager said that the staff had been told that “significant caution” by carrying their personal mobile phones to the United States. “Are you telling me that traveling in business to the United States is now the same as going to China?” said.
An executive of the pharmaceutical industry based in New York said that some large companies in the sector did not send people to the United States, especially if they thought they were probably stopped at the border because they were “brown, Muslims or Chinese.”
A London -based corporate executive said his company was encouraging staff to request global entry, the American program that accelerates border controls for examined travelers. Meanwhile, some US technology companies urged foreign staff to bring extensive personal documentation, including marriage certificates, rental agreements and payment receipts to relieve re -entry.
Online forums like Reddit They are full of tips to, for example, eliminate social networks applications and avoid storing any politically sensitive content on your phone.
Since the executive order of January 20, the Governments of the United Kingdom and Germans have updated the travel councils with a harder wording, warning citizens that even minor infractions could lead to detention. “The authorities in the US set. UU. And enforce the input rules strictly. It may be able to arrest or detention if it breaks the rules,” says the United Kingdom.
A lawyer from a British firm with commercial interests of the United States said that while these rules had always been in their place, they now applied more regularly, so the authorities of the United Kingdom and German had modified their travel orientation.
“The probabilities [of facing any trouble] They are still quite low, “said the lawyer.” For companies day by day, the approach focuses on digital devices. Federal authorities have been able to take advantage, search and copy the information on their device. “
The change is beginning to drip business trip reservations. Air France-Klm and Lufthansa have reported signs of weakening the demand for transatlantic routes between European passengers.
“There is a definitive slowdown in business trip reserves,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst.
“Several airlines tell me that they are seeing the slight deceleration or ‘modest’ in their future business travel reserves, including the national United States, within Europe, and in both directions between Europe and the United States.”
He said that the reasons for this included the weakening of economies, which generally trigger a cut in business trips, “as well as concerns among international business travelers regarding possible problems that enter the US. UU.”
Harteveldt noted that there was a “remarkable concern among corporate travel managers about international trips in the United States.”
Alexander, the research scientist, is already thinking about the preparations he will have to do for his next business trip, this time to the United Kingdom. “I have to do exactly the same again,” he said.
Additional reports by Hannah Kuchler and Philip Georgiadis