The U.S. government under Trump is ramping up its efforts to restrict entrance to the country - even for tourists from ally countries. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) recently proposed a
new rule that would
block non-citizens from entering the country unless they first reveal their past 5 years of social media activity.Sign the petition to demand the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency withdraw this draconian tourism proposal!Additionally, any tourist hoping to travel to the U.S. would
also need to disclose
all phone numbers they've used in the past 5 years, and
all email addresses used in the past 10 years. The U.S. would also require
biometrics - including DNA, irises, face, and fingerprint data - as well as details about all
family members, including their names, places and dates of birth, and current addresses.
This is apparently being proposed to bring the CBP into compliance with Trump's mandate that potential tourists "do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles."
These changes would apply to all tourists, including from the 42 countries whose citizens are currently exempted from needing a tourist visa, such as the U.K., France, Germany, Australia, and Japan.
All of this is happening as the
U.S. economy and tourism are both continuing to decline. For the past 11 months, tourism has declined each month. Some researchers say the U.S. will have lost as much as
$30 billion in tourism revenue for 2025. Even more mind-bogglingly, this is happening just before the U.S. is set to host the FIFA World Cup with Mexico and Canada in 2026 and and the Olympics in 2028.
This amount of surveillance and scrutiny just for being a tourist is frightening and extremely unusual. It's certain to have horrible impacts on the U.S. economy - but it is also a violation of tourists' personal privacy and sets a frightening tone for future escalations.
Luckily, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency's plan hasn't gone into effect yet. The agency has to wait until a 2-month public comment period ends first, which means we still have a chance to make an impact. Now is the time to speak out! Sign the petition today!