The U.S. Is Using “National Security” to Silence Dissent—And You Could Be Next
How Policies Targeting Immigrants and Tourists Are Creeping Toward American Citizens
Imagine stepping off a plane, passport in hand, ready to attend a prestigious scientific conference. You’ve spent months preparing, refining your research, excited to collaborate with your peers. But before you even make it through customs, border officials seize your phone, scroll through your private messages, and declare you inadmissible.
Your crime? Expressing criticism of U.S. policies on scientific research in private conversations.
This isn’t a dystopian fantasy. It’s the story of Dr. Julien Marchand, a respected French scientist who was effectively deported upon arrival in Houston. Despite having no criminal record and a valid reason to enter the country, Dr. Marchand was barred from the U.S. over private messages.
The official reason? He was deemed “detrimental to U.S. interests.” But the real message was clear: Dissent will not be tolerated.
The Laws Making This Possible
The shocking treatment of Dr. Marchand isn’t just an isolated incident. It results from deliberate policies and legal loopholes that give Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sweeping powers.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (1952):
Section 212(a)(3): Allows denial of entry to anyone deemed “detrimental to U.S. interests.” The vague standard allows the government to target political speech and punish dissent.
The Border Search Exception to the Fourth Amendment:
Cases like United States v. Ramsey (1977), United States v. Montoya de Hernandez (1985), and United States v. Cotterman (2013) have established that warrantless searches are permissible at the border, even for electronic devices.
The border is treated as a legal gray zone where privacy rights are virtually non-existent.
CBP’s Internal Policies:
Directive 3340-049A (2018): Allows “basic” phone searches without suspicion and “advanced” forensic searches with “reasonable suspicion.”
This vague standard gives CBP agents enormous discretion. And if they decide something you’ve said or written is “detrimental,” you can be turned away without any real recourse.
How the Patriot Act Created This Surveillance State
The Patriot Act, passed in the emotional aftermath of 9/11, established a legal and technological infrastructure for mass surveillance and the erosion of civil liberties.
Section 215: Also known as the “library provision,” this section allowed the government to collect “any tangible things” relevant to a national security investigation with almost no limitations.
Mass Data Collection: It provided legal cover for the bulk collection of phone records and internet activity, including the infamous NSA programs exposed by Edward Snowden.
Chilling Effect: Libraries nationwide stopped keeping circulation records to avoid putting their patrons at risk. When the simple act of reading the “wrong” book could bring government scrutiny, free thought becomes stifled.
But the Patriot Act wasn’t just about monitoring people’s reading habits. It established a mindset that anything could be justified under the banner of national security. That same logic is now being applied to private text messages and personal conversations.
The Patriot Act allows our government to surveil you. Today.
The Abuse of “National Security” to Justify Surveillance
The government claims these invasive practices are about national security, but Dr. Marchand was no security threat. He was a respected scientist with no criminal record, being punished for expressing critical opinions about U.S. policies.
But visitors from Europe are not the only ones being targeted. Legal immigrants with valid visas are also being punished.
Take Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese transplant nephrologist and assistant professor at Brown University. Despite her long-standing work in the U.S., she was deported upon returning from Lebanon. The reason? Photos on her phone that U.S. officials claimed were sympathetic to Hezbollah, even though she asserted her support was religious, not political.
Expanding Surveillance to Tourists and Casual Travelers
Starting April 11, 2025, Canadian visitors staying in the U.S. for over 30 days must register with immigration authorities. The new policy affects millions of Canadian visitors, with non-compliance punishable by fines or imprisonment.
If such measures can be applied to visitors from a (once) trusted ally like Canada, how long before these policies are applied to everyone else?
This isn’t about known or suspected terrorists. This isn’t about national security.
The Creeping Normalization of Surveillance and Control
What began as a crackdown on undocumented immigrants has grown into a systematic targeting of legal immigrants, tourists, and even casual visitors from allied countries. The pattern is clear: The U.S. government is expanding its authority under the guise of national security, with little accountability and almost limitless power.
The Patriot Act laid the groundwork for this surveillance state. The same tools built to combat terrorism are now being used to punish dissent and silence criticism.
And it’s not just foreign visitors or legal immigrants being targeted. It’s journalists, activists, and anyone whose voice challenges the status quo.
See our reporting on ongoing threats to the free press under the Trump administration:
Why This Should Terrify You
The deportation of a respected scientist and a university professor and the targeting of Canadian tourists all point to one alarming truth: Today, it’s them. Tomorrow, it’s you.
What Can You Do to Fight Back?
Support Advocacy Groups: Donate to the ACLU, EFF, and other organizations fighting these abuses.
Contact Your Representatives: Demand stronger privacy protections and more explicit limits on government overreach.
Raise Awareness: Share your story. Spread the word. Push back against the normalization of surveillance.
This is How Authoritarianism Begins
We knew it was coming. We hoped it wouldn't, but here we are. The United States is falling.
The beacon of free speech and democracy is targeting the free press, respected guests attending professional conferences, trusted visa holders returning to perform their important work, and our once closest allies vacationing in our cities. We’ve permitted our government to monitor us for decades because they told us we were at risk from another terrorist attack.
But the terrorists are in our government. Their goal is to pit us against one another, to distract us with culture wars, and to gut our freedoms.
Lace up. It is time to fight back.
You power the Coffman Chronicle—no billionaires, no corporate overlords. Help us expose the BS, deliver sharp insights, and keep you informed.
You can fuel the fight and join the movement for just $8 a month or $80 a year.
Not ready to subscribe? No worries, chaos loves company, and you're always welcome.
Bibliography:
French scientist denied entry into the U.S., French government says. Reuters. March 20, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/french-scientist-denied-entry-into-us-french-government-says-2025-03-20/
Doctor deported to Lebanon had photos 'sympathetic' to Hezbollah on phone, US says. Reuters. March 17, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/doctor-deported-lebanon-had-photos-sympathetic-hezbollah-phone-us-says-2025-03-17/
Brown University Tells International Students, Staff to Avoid Travel Abroad. Wall Street Journal. March 15, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/brown-university-travel-professor-green-card-deportation-aa6bff14
Homeland Security says professor deported to Lebanon with US visa supported Hezbollah leader. Associated Press. March 17, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/82da65b55159243df4fd27b8be47db87
US to require Canadians who are in the country for longer than 30 days to register with government. ABC News. March 12, 2025. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-require-canadians-country-longer-30-days-register/story?id=119715901
U.S. Government Surveillance and the Destruction of Privacy. Electronic Frontier Foundation. October 2024. https://www.eff.org/issues/mass-surveillance
Patriot Act . Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Act
Surveillance Under the USA/PATRIOT Act. American Civil Liberties Union. October 2001. https://www.aclu.org/documents/surveillance-under-usapatriot-act
Get LOUD and PROUD!!! Protest on social media and in person if you're able!!!
Sounds exactly like what Nazis and Communists do