Traveling to America While Muslim

You'll be more then welcome in Vancouver

Dear NYT
Why did you even bother to open up this piece to comments? Only 30 comments were published as of 23 July at 6:40 ET, 2 days after the article was published. I sent a comment Fri night but it was not posted even though you sent the false notice 24 hrs later! My comment was opposite the sentiment of this piece, but definitely respectful, if I say so myself. I would expect that you would not post comments if 'vulgar' or 'personal attacks', or 'off topic', according to your own guidelines, but you should no censor for opinion! Readers can do that via the recommend, or not, button!

It obviously appears that you are reluctant to post comments on this piece if these comments run contrary to your position. It seems that the majority of comments, from mostly liberal NYT readers at that, are counter to your piece, which says how far left this piece is.

If you do not want to hear the opinions of your paid subscribers, then you should not have opened this up to comments in the first place!

More liberal catastrophizing. If someone wants to come to the US with a UK passport, that person gets in with the common US ESTA visa Waiver; no problem at all. The other, Somali, passport has nothing to do with it; you get in with your UK Passport. But the New York Times loves to see a catastrophe where none exists if it can demonize Donald Trump (and, in truth, any Republican). I can easily go to Saudi Arabia with my US passport, but with my Israeli passport, not at all. Which one do you think I take with me? When will the Times starting reporting honestly again?

I'm horrified by some of the ignorant anti-Muslim comments on this thread...I read the NYTimes every day because I feel it is a more open-minded source (on BOTH sides of the political spectrum) but some of these comments might be from a Breitbart comment thread...extremism practiced under the guise of any religion or cause is exactly that, extremism and not representative of it as a whole...the folks mentioned in this article are just regular folks trying to live in the world...many years ago, I spent several months traveling around Syria, Jordan and Egypt and to date, were my favorite places I have ever visited and the warmth and hospitality I received was humbling...and the respect I received as a woman was also just standard from everyone...no one treated me like less of a person or like chattel...there is so much misunderstanding of the vast majority of peaceful and law-abiding Muslims in our world and that frustrates me...I do not what is to be done, but I do not agree with the travel ban at all and this article is just an example of what that looks like for those profiled...

And just how welcoming would Muslim communities and countries be of my gay neighbor who would like to spend HIS tourist money there? He would be rightfully fearful he'd be thrown off the top of a building for being gay. But somehow the Left is entirely accepting of THIS as they choose to ignore this little inconvenient fact.

My first reaction - oh, get over yourself. I think it's good that we're being very clear upfront that people with certain profiles will likely be subject to more in-depth screening before being allowed entry. So, if you fit that profile, even a little bit, and don't want to answer some questions, then don't come. This includes me, when I returned from a trip to the Middle East - I was happy to be questioned about my activities. There is nothing wrong with trying to better protect ourselves from those trying to blow us up (unlike our French and British cousins who seem unable to do so). This isn't going to solve our long-standing social ills, but will provide an appropriate line of defense against a virulent threat.

'But this year’s travel ban, shutting out citizens from entire countries with Muslim majorities, has shaken me to my core.'

One Jihadi terror attack after another after another has shaken many Americans to the core. The status quo was failing the American people, time to try a new tact.

And BTW, the killing of the good Samaritan Australian woman, Justine Damond, by a Somali American officer also has shaken many of us to the core.

Although there aren't too many comments yet, I am ashamed of my fellow Americans for their harsh intolerance exhibited in their feedback to this provocative article. If you don't want to go to Paris or London, it's not because a government is putting up travel barriers against you. Rather westerners who are fearful decide themselves a visit is not warranted. The very essence of the United States as previously seen the world over, was a highly desirable country to visit. The Muslim ban, for all the citizens whose sharp tongues have come to its defense, would not have prevented San Bernadino, Orlando, Boston, and Fort Hood. Americans should remember that in each of these calamities, all of the masterminds were permanent residents of the USA. Even if they had come back to the US, they wouldn't have been detained for long periods. Trump is a poor excuse for a POTUS, let's try to at least show some compassion and empathy. The danger of the trump ban and his matching rhetoric is they imply that all the world's 1 billion Muslims are terrorists wishing to do us harm. The ban wreaks of the Japanese interment camps of WW2.

Trudeau has laid out the welcome mat to all so you can vacation in Canada if you hate Trump or feel you are not welcome in the US.

Sorry about the inconvenience of "answering questions" at the airport. How are screeners supposed to distinguish you and others with Somali passport stamps from killers who went for terrorist training? Oh, you attended a US university? Just like Somali Abdul Artan, who terrorized the Ohio State campus last November. Try cooperating instead of being indignant, it'll be safer for all of us. And maybe working in the Somali community in Britain to deter your young men from becoming radicalized instead of feigning astonishment over the reputation of Muslims might help.

Think it's hard for a Muslim to enter the United States...try entering Saudi Arabia as a Christian or Jew!

Shameful, and should be utterly unacceptable. No large group should be discriminated against in this fashion. It is individuals who commit crimes.

Creating prejudice in this way is un-American. It is akin to saying "all blacks are...." or "all Jews are....". Or, during the second world war: "all Japanese-origin people are....".

Discriminating against an entire community in this way is un-American. It is also ignorant.

If you are carrying a British passport what exactly is the problem?
And if it's such a worry there are plenty of other places to go on vacation.
Canada is very nice this time of year.
Honestly, I don't know why anyone would want to vacation in the US.
We're a little too gun happy in this country. And most people are driving like complete drunken morons while texting on our roads and highways.
Make sure you buy good medical insurance if you do decide to come here.

I would recommend the Detroit area. we have a large Muslim population, water sports, great food, architecture, art, automotive history, fantastic music and easy day trips to Toronto, Chicago, the Great Lakes and Cedar Point.

Lots of countries (e.g. Indonesia, UAE) that Israelis cannot visit. Being Israeli, one faces far more travel constraints than Muslims.

And I as a Jewish American am more than a little concerned about traveling to dozens of Muslim countries. And the thought of wearing a symbol of my ethnicity or religion in any of those countries--forget about it.

I'm sure most Americans are not upset at the reduction of Muslim travel here. Polls have been showing that most Americans favor President Trump's recent immigration ban. IMO this can only be because there is more awareness of the inherent evils in Islamic teachings and of the strife and Islam inspired terror in Europe. Hence, there is simply more awareness of the risks Muslims represent.

I can certainly understand Ms. Abokor's reluctance to take her chances with American immigration at the moment, but she can be assured that many of us in Seattle would absolutely welcome her to visit our city.

I think this is precisely the point of the Trump administration initiatives in this area- discourage Muslims from traveling and/or emigrating to the U.S. It is primarily a cultural message- we don't want your culture propagating here.

This essay describes the arbitrary enforcement of the law, approaching utter lawlessness. Many Americans fear similar treatment when visiting Iran or North Korea. That our immigration policy toward Muslims is similar to some of the most arbitrary regimes in the world is a sad, sad statement about the rule of law in the U.S..

This is not a hardship. I won't travel to England or France now because of terror warnings. Who wants to go to a country that is in a state of emergency like France because of Islamic terrorism?
I'm not whining about it. There are lots of other places to go. I just had a wonderful trip to Switzerland.

No sympathy here; no doubt Muslim travelers from abroad will find themselves under closer scrutiny than was the case before the age of Muslim terrorists kicked in with a vengeance. Government regulations regarding immigration and travel are blunt instruments, inconveniencing many. The object, of course, is to bar those who would do grievous harm to the innocent.

So Muslims are reluctant to travel to the US because of Trump?

Why don't you write a story about American's reluctance to travel to many cities in Europe (inc. Paris, Nice, London, Manchester, Brussels and Berlin) because of the growth of Islamic terror and extremism?

Indeed the US State Department issued a warning this year to Americans traveling there.

Welcome to life as a black person in The United States of America, except it's not only at airports; rejected from houses, at schools, churches, restaurants; a big red line, drawn by very visible hands, on our never quite "acceptable visas".