Summary
German tattoo artist Jessica Brösche, 26, is indefinitely detained by ICE after being denied entry at the San Diego border from Tijuana.
Despite possessing a valid German passport, visa waiver, and return ticket to Berlin, she underwent secondary inspection and spent days in detention, including eight in solitary confinement.
Accused of planning to violate the terms of the visa waiver by working in Los Angeles as a tattoo artist, her ordeal is described as "like a horror movie.”
Brösche‘s friend Amelia Lofving was finally able to track her down and visited after 25 days.
The Frankfurter Rundschau additionally writes
Wie Nikita Lofving, eine befreundete Kollegin Brösches der Zeitung sagte, soll das Tattoo-Equipment, das die Berlinerin bei sich trug, den Grenzbeamten als Verdachtsmoment ausgereicht haben, dass Brösche in den USA arbeiten wolle. Lofving sagte, Brösche habe lediglich sie tätowieren wollen – unter Freundinnen und eben nicht kommerziell.
Jessica had tattoo equipment with her to tattoo Nikita, but that equipment made the border police suspicious that she was trying to tattoo American customers illegally on her tourist visa.
Do not come to America it has been taken over by Nazis.
There is an ICE facility in California thats thrived by bribing local officials and has been known to detain people that are not carrying I.D., with agents believed to be going around the local neighborhoods harassing people.
It’s not been about illegal immigration or violations of visas, ICE is corrupt and conducts itself in horrendous, morally heinous ways, to innocents and guilty alike.
ICE on its way to be renamed into Schutzstaffel
Hm, we were planning to go to LA this year, but with a German passport in light of this article, Uhm, I’m having second thoughts. I wasn’t that worried about problems when we went to China last year.
Oh, I’m in LA and you should definitely come; just wait until after our civil war or coup or whatever it is that happens to get things to settle down. It’s a lovely city if you know where to go.
Also if it’s any consolation, we’ve practically got ICE protests almost every day. People here are fucking livid over this shit, particularly the Latino parts of town. (Although in typical LA fashion, part of the protesting is because of a TikTok trend).
As an American, please do not come to America right now
There are still many nice places to visit in America, I would just avoid the US.
I would avoid America completely. To send a good message you can’t give money.
Agreed. 2/10, would not recommend to a friend
Please don’t come here. Wait and see whether we are able to rediscover our humanity.
People gotta stop acting as if things are business as usual
The 20 days detention for westerners aren’t usual (while they are for others) but being stopped at immigration because they think you may work is unfortunately standard. If your lucky, they’ll search your laptop as good old corporate espionage if you’re not, you’ll fly home with a denied stamp on your passport
Go to Vancouver instead. Much better than LA.
The Winchester brothers agree!
I’m from the US and still have family there. There’s zero chance I go unless someone is dying and, even then, I dare not bring my wife who speaks very little English. I’m glad we went before this shitstorm happened so she could at least meet my surviving grandparents once.
LA is mostly a dump, anyway.
Ah yes, guilty of made up shit that isn’t supported by any facts. We’ve arrived, America
I was at some point wanting to visit the US as a tourist, see the grand canyon etc. The last part of me that wanted to go there has changed the last couple of months.
But even before Trump won, I imagined a couple of horrendous scenarios that could happen based on things I read online. This confirms my worst fears. This does not sound like a safe country to visit. Even as a white cishet man.
Anyone who does opt to visit the US really should do so by flying into either Seattle or Portland, Oregon, our two most left-leaning cities.
If you’re going to Seattle you honestly should just go to Vancouver though.
Being a Vancouver boy, born and bred, I agree…buuuut if you do end up in Seattle, Biscuit Bitch is a must.
The Niagara Falls border crossing is also pretty chill
CoreCivic spokesman Brian Todd said the company sometimes uses restrictive housing for medical and mental health observation, protective custody or investigative purposes.
A horse by a different name is still a FUCKING HORSE!!!
We’ve been cancelling/postponing plans to visit the US since 2016. May never see it again at this pace. I’m sure america doesn’t need tourists anyway
They sure don’t seem to want them.
From the article…
According to KPBS, US Customs and Border Protection accused Brösche of planning to violate the terms of the visa waiver program by intending to work as a tattoo artist during her time in Los Angeles.
… and …
Lofving said she asked Ice agents if Brösche could be sent back to Mexico, but they responded that her lack of legal residency would mean she would be deported back to Germany. Lofving also said she tried to get help from the German consulate in Los Angeles.
You are European, you have so many nice countries to visit, why would you go to the US, you kinda had it coming
She wanted to visit her friend
With you until the end. Don’t be such a dick.
I feel sorry for this woman, but this is the second article I’ve seen about this blonde and you can imagine that there are hundreds of thousands of brown-eyed women going though that and worse who aren’t “worthy victims”.
I’m just hoping this story will reach more people because she is a western european (nothing to do with looks or gender) and will get people to pay attention to all the horrible stuff happening to a lot of people in these detention centers.
The value of this case is to make exactly your point: “if they’re doing this to German tourists just imagine what they do to people from other less privileged nationalities”. It shows the depth of the depravity.
(That there are hypocrites who would be content so long as this only happens to “those” people and not to white women is of course a given.)
