Allegiances are shifting as the US begins to resemble a corrupt soviet satellite

It has been projected that the US will be the only country out of 184 to see a decline in visitor numbers and revenue this year. Invasive scrutiny of the online speech of anyone wishing to enter the US has a big part to play in that effect, writes Liz Carolan

Capricious and extractive border experiences are not normally a sign of a strong country, and in some ways this is becoming true of the United States. File photo: Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP

If I ever had to admit a prejudice against a group of people, it would be border guards. Specifically, it would be border guards stationed at remote or run down land crossings. 

More than once have I found myself shaken down for a bribe in the no man's land between nation states, beyond the reach of fairness, justice or adequate phone signal. I have had property “confiscated”, been taken to smokey windowless rooms for questioning, and told — when a friend and I refused to hand over €50 for some invented crime — that “two pretty girls like you don’t want to spend the night in a Serbian prison”. They weren’t wrong. We paid.