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In reply to the discussion: Canadian woman refused U.S. entry because of depression [View all]struggle4progress
(119,430 posts)you can be denied admission to the US if you suffer mental illness that renders you a danger to yourself or others, and it also provides an administrative remedy for such determinations
You're welcome, I suppose, to think these customs guys were just on a power trip -- but discussion, about the actual facts in this case, does at least require the actual facts. Was Ms Richardson (for example) travelling under the visa waiver program, but found ineligible for that program, as a danger to herself? If so, she can seek a visa, which might require an evaluation of her mental condition by a psychiatrist chosen from a list of approved psychiatrists. Was Ms Richardson denied a visa, based on a determination she is a danger to herself?? Then she can seek an administrative waiver of that, pursuant to regulation, with perhaps some additional conditions for her travel
I myself don't find much basis for forming much of an opinion on the topic. If I read the law, and (to the best of my ability) root out Ms Richardson's history, I don't find a glaring prima facie error: I wasn't there, and I don't know Ms Richardson, but it seems to me that someone could reasonably conclude the law applied to her case
Of course, if you find the regulations abhorrent, you can seek to change them; and if you find the law abhorrent, you can seek to change it. And maybe if you're not outraged enough to spend time trying either of those options, you aren't really very outraged