I am also a Canadian going to school in the U.S., the difference being that
I live in Windsor and commute to Detroit, so I deal with this crap every
single day.
I don't think Laurent is overexaggerating at all because I have seen such
intrusion by U.S. officials first hand, amongst my fellow foreign students
and towards the many Windsorites that work in Michigan. I've also been a
student since pre-9/11 so I have seen the progression of security, and it
has gotten tighter and tighter.
I don't think anyone on this list, especially those living in the U.S.,
should brush of Laurent's claims as an "overreaction". He is not the only
artist that this will happen to, and likely not the only artist that will
say "screw it, all the trouble is not worth it".
There are already several artists (such as Steve Bug and Ricardo Villalobos)
that refuse to play in the U.S. due to political beliefs and security, and
I'm sure these tightened measures will only discourage more.
From: Luis-Manuel Garcia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Cyclone Wehner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CC: 313 Detroit <313@hyperreal.org>
Subject: Re: (313) US Customs (Was No Movement 2005?)
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2005 23:23:24 -0600
Dude(s), it's not just for people from other continents, it's for [EMAIL PROTECTED]
canadians as well. I was a student for a couple of years at Indiana U back
in 97-99 and thought I had it rough as an "alien" student. I took comfort
in the knowledge that my Canadian status afforded me some "exceptions" in
the ordeal that was US Immigration. I just came back to Chicago in Aug of
04 for some more school work and the ordeal was MUCH bigger and more
aggressive. Rules are more restrictive, "extenuating circumstances" are no
longer entertained and the consequences for messing up your visa (i.e.
working as a tutor while on an F-1 visa) are much more dire (i.e.
deportation and confiscation of passport). If it sucks like that for
canadians, you can imagine what that's doing for visitors from overseas.
oy
Luis
