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Steffani Cameron 🇨🇦 @snarkysteff.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

More stories of Canadians experiencing customs struggles and being threatened with detention now. This is Cree music composer Andrew Balfour's post from today on Facebook.

Yesterday is a day I'd rather forget. Even with what I thought was proper paperwork, I was denied entry in US. So, they put you in a holding room, take your passport and phone, and wait. In my case 4 hours, sitting in a shitty room in Newark International Airport in New Jersey watching all the people being detained arguing their case...brutal.....
After. 2 hours, was told I could either be held until an Immigrantion Judge could hear my case, ( could take days) or they put me on a flight back to Toronto. I took the flight, but they hold you for the last minute, than I was escorted to my gate by 2 armed us customs dudes, walked directly to the plane door, they give me an envelope with my passport and phone and I walk on the plane, last one on, and now people are giving me looks...ffs
At least they didn't have me in handcuffs
Sucks, but ironically, the young US customs guy in charge of my file or whatever was a good person. He knew the red tape or bullshit was happening, he was sympathetic and even understanding, a good person. As he was finger printing me, finger by finger, he actually was apologizing, and when he found out I was a composer, I did hear him tell his supervisor to treat me okay,
But big regret not being with Amabile Choirs and Sherryl Sewepagaham and our songs this weekend.
The Creator has different ideas than we....

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Gina Ruiz @ginaruiz.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

That’s terrible. It’s fucking scary here.

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Steffani Cameron 🇨🇦 @snarkysteff.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

[this is blowing up, and i'm glad, because we need to pay attention. but i am turning off the notifications as well as replies to it, in case of racists or whatever, but i'll leave it quoteable tho.]

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Rachel Thomas @m-rachelthomas.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Terrible.

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Cook Ting @cookting.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

First, my heart goes out to Mr Balfour, but his grace here sets a noble example. Second, adding this to my growing work folder for when my boss asks me why we're paying someone $350 an hour for a week's work I could have done if I'd gone to EWR myself.

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