Ireland has joined several other European countries issuing travel warnings to the United States like the kind we used to issue for travel to Syria or other conflict zones. And Ireland is not alone. Germany, Finland, Denmark, and the UK have issued what they call “travel advisories.” Why? A few examples will suffice.
A German citizen with a valid visa returning from a short trip to a resort in Mexico, was stripped and held by ICE and then summarily deported. Another, a Green Card holder since 2007, who had one cannabis conviction while a minor, erased due to California law, was thrown into detention when returning to Logan. Deprived of food, sleep, and his medication, he ended up in the hospital.
Others, including Canadians, have been thrown into detention as well. So, when will it cross over to U.S. citizens who travel abroad? Possibly coming soon to an entry point near you.
Prayer for the Day
Frustrated and often angry, we come to you, O God,
Seeking mercy when we do not extend it to others;
Confused and often bewildered, we seek answers
But often we are not sure of what questions to ask.
Forgive us the anger we often hide inside ourselves;
And open us to a new way of being in and caring.
In the name of the One who shows us how to live,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Travel from Western Europe, which represented 37% of overseas travel to the US last year, is susceptible to declines as a result of both tariffs and the administration's perceived recent alignment with Russia in the war in Ukraine as sentiment towards the US is damaged
Oxford Economics Report, issued February 2025
It’s [the U.S.] a really hostile and scary time, and quite frankly, there’s plenty of other inviting and pleasant places I can go to meet up with my family
Mallory Henderson, Marketing consultant, cancelling trip to Boston to see family
You consider yourself a lion among the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas;
You thrash about in your streams, trouble the water with your feet, fouling the streams
Thus says the Lord God: in an assembly of many peoples,
I will throw my net over you, and I will haul you up in my dragnet.
Ezekiel 32: 2-3