Posted by Well, here we go again. The SCMP reports that, “Human Rights Watch chief denied entry to Hong Kong at airport, with no explanation provided“. This isn’t the first time, just the most recent with a high profile case last month when TIME reported that, “Heads of U.S. Business Group in Hong Kong Denied Entry to Macau.” The gist of the message is, “Kenneth Roth, the group’s executive director, said in a report on its website that immigration officials told him he could not enter Hong Kong when he landed at the airport, with no explanation provided… Roth later wrote on Twitter: ‘Despite my probing, the Hong Kong immigration authorities would say only (and repeatedly) that they were barring me for ‘immigration reasons’. They wouldn’t even own up to the real reason.'” In other words, the report suggests that Hong Kong should not refuse entry to American and infringe upon their rights of freedom of movement; unfortunately this is a right that actually doesn’t exist despite biased media reports that try to suggest it does.
I have a problem with this sort of story for two reasons. First, every country has to right to refuse entry to a foreign national and they are not required to declare a reason for that refusal.
The Unites States does this all the time to foreign nationals, even Canadians trying to cross our long and undefended border. As the CBC reports, “U.S. border guards detain Canadian woman for 5 hours, refuse entry without visa.” “After nearly five hours, a border patrol officer told her she was denied entry and that she would need a visa — something not normally required for Canadians at land border crossings — to enter the U.S. again. With no criminal record or history of problems entering the U.S., De Vos said she can’t understand why she has not been given an explanation. The denial didn’t apply to her partner, but the two decided to turn around and return to Vancouver.” This is also not an isolated incident but one that is increasingly common as CBC reported a month later, “U.S. doubles number of 5-year bans on travellers from Canada.” “Between October 2018 and September 2019, U.S. border officers issued expedited removals — which “generally” result in a minimum five-year ban — to 616 travellers attempting to enter the U.S. by land from Canada. That’s an almost 100 per cent increase compared with 312 in the previous 12-month period. The statistics were provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The spike in expedited removals — which are issued without a hearing — comes as no surprise to some immigration lawyers, who say that in their experience, suspect cases that used to result in a simple denied entry can now lead to a five-year ban.”
Second, an more importantly, the United States also refuses entry when it is clearly contradictory to international law. It also does it to so-called human rights investigators when it feels its against its national interest as this AP report from last year highlights, “US bars entry to International Criminal Court investigators.” The United States will revoke or deny visas to International Criminal Court personnel seeking to investigate alleged war crimes and other abuses committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan or elsewhere, and may do the same with those who seek action against Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday. Pompeo, acting on a threat delivered in September by U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, framed the action as necessary to prevent the international body from infringing on U.S. sovereignty by prosecuting American forces or allies for torture or other war crimes. ‘We are determined to protect the American and allied military and civilian personnel from living in fear of unjust prosecution for actions taken to defend our great nation,’ Pompeo said.”
It’s not an empty threat. The United States has and continues to enforce this policy as this NPR article points out, “U.S. Denies Entry To Leader Of Movement To Boycott Israel.” “The U.S. government has denied entry to Palestinian activist Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement, which urges boycott, divestment and sanctions to pressure Israel on security and settlement policies in the West Bank. Barghouti was at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel on Wednesday when airline staff informed him that he wouldn’t be flying despite holding valid travel documents, according to the Arab American Institute, a Washington-based advocacy group that arranged the trip. He was told that U.S. immigration officials had ordered the U.S. consul in Tel Aviv to deny him permission to enter the United States. ‘Barghouti was not provided an explanation for his denial of entry beyond ‘immigration matter,’ ‘ the Arab American Institute said in a statement. The group said Barghouti typically faces travel hurdles from Israel — not the United States. He has a master’s degree from Columbia University and spent a decade in the U.S. in the 1980s. A State Department official told NPR, ‘Visa records are confidential under U.S. law; therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases.'”
The United States even denies entry to diplomatic representatives in contradiction of international laws as this Newsweek article illustrates, “U.S. BREAKS INTERNATIONAL LAW IF IT REFUSES IRAN’S TOP DIPLOMAT ENTRY FOR U.N., EXPERTS SAY.” “After a number of news outlets reported Monday that President Donald Trump’s administration would deny Zarif entry, the Iranian diplomat himself confirmed Tuesday the reports in an interview with CBS News. He said U.S. officials were turning him away “because they fear someone will go there and tell the truth to the American people.” Zarif was expected to address the U.N. Security Council and speak with journalists regarding the U.S.’ assassination Thursday of top Iranian military leader, Revolutionary Guards Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, in Iraq… The 1947 U.N. Headquarters Agreement Act secured New York as the host city for the international body’s main building and requires the U.S. to allow access to diplomats. Washington has nonetheless long reserved the right to block individuals of its own choosing, but experts such as Jose Alvarez, Herbert and Rose Rubin Professor of International Law, at the New York University School of Law, told Newsweek this could not be justified.”
And lest you think this is all just a President Trump thing, the United States has done this all along, including under the Obama administration as this older BBC report shows, “US refuses visa for Iran’s UN envoy choice Hamid Aboutalebi. “The US House of Representatives and the Senate have both voted in favour of a bill barring Mr Aboutalebi from the US. It still requires the signature of the president before it can become law. Iran says Mr Aboutalebi is one of its most experienced diplomats and stands by his nomination. White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Friday the UN and Iran had been told “that we will not issue a visa to Mr Aboutalebi”. He did not say whether President Obama would sign the bill but said the president shared the sentiments of Congress… It is believed the US has never before denied a visa for a UN ambassador and correspondents say there is concern among diplomats about the precedent that could be set.”
There you have it; when another country refuses entry to American citizens, it is a violation of their human rights. “I had hoped to spotlight Beijing’s deepening assault on international efforts to uphold human rights. The refusal to let me enter Hong Kong vividly illustrates the problem.” When America refuses entry to foreign citizens, even other Western European ones looking to enforce human rights, it because they “are determined to protect the American and allied military and civilian personnel from living in fear of unjust prosecution for actions taken to defend our great nation.” American exceptionalism at its finest – Civis romanus sum.