Hacker News Reader

Comment by 1024core | Hacker News Reader

Even citizens can be prevented from coming back. It happened a few times during GWB's reign.

Not to defend anything that's currently going on, but you have to consider the possibility of a dispute at the border over whether someone is a citizen or not.

Honestly, this is why I don't complain very much about biometrics and databases, because the realistic alternative (potentially being detained at the border while they try to guess whether your passport is forged/altered/stolen) is much worse.

Who was blocked from coming back under Bush?

I can't remember the name off the top of my head but I recall a famous "no fly list" story about someone who was prohibited from returning to the US because their name was a potential misspelling of a suspected terrorist's name.

I hate to be obtuse, but this is much more comprehensive. A "no fly list" at least gives you the option of traveling by sea, or flying into Canada or Mexico and coming in through the border. Horribly inconvenient, but not a blanket ban.

> traveling by sea [from another continent]

If you have thousands of dollars and a week or two to waste.

> Canada or Mexico

If you can get a visa for those places. Both of your ideas are things I, as an affluent Westerner, would try if the US government stuck me on a no-fly list, but for the people targeted they may simply not be possible.

Like I said,

Horribly inconvenient, but not a blanket ban.

The book fly list restricted people flying to the US, it didn't block entry to people who arrived via other means.

I, too, remember this happening and being reported, maybe the NYTimes.

I'm having trouble finding dates for some of these cases and none seem to have happened while GWB was POTUS. But here are a few links involving US citizens whose ability to travel into and out of the US were curtailed. None of the following links are the case I remember, which involved an American who was a father (from NY?) and who had been stranded from his family in the US.

  • U.S. Veterans Stranded Overseas|Challenge No-Fly ‘Terror’ List [0]
  • ACLU challenges constitutionality of no-fly list [1]
  • No-fly list grounds another San Diegan [2]
  • How a Young American Escaped the No-Fly List [3]

[0] http://courthousenews.com/u-s-veterans-stranded-overseaschal...

[1] https://www.publicintegrity.org/2010/06/30/2631/aclu-challen...

[2] http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/watchdog/sdut-no-fl...

[3] https://theintercept.com/2016/01/21/how-a-young-american-esc...

EDIT: formatting

Reply on news.ycombinator.com