Germany updated its travel advisory on Tuesday, for the United States, to emphasize that a visa or entry waiver does not guarantee entry for its citizens.
This comes after several Germans were detained at the border recently, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
The ministry updated its travel advice website to clarify that neither approval through the U.S. ESTA system nor a U.S. visa entitles entry in every case.
“The final decision on whether a person can enter the U.S. lies with the U.S. border authorities,” said the spokesperson on Wednesday.
However, the spokesperson emphasized that the change did not constitute a travel warning.
Since taking office on January 20, President Donald Trump has announced a number of immigration-related executive orders.
These orders according to media reports, focus on stricter border policy, tighter visa vetting procedures.
They also focus on a crackdown on undocumented migrants in the United States.
Germany’s foreign ministry said earlier this week that it was monitoring whether there had been a change in U.S. immigration policy.
This was after three nationals had been detained.
Two of the three cases have been resolved, with the affected nationals returning to Germany.
But the remaining case was being handled with the help of the consulate general in Boston.
A German man with a green card was detained by U.S. immigration authorities at Boston Airport earlier this month.
This is according to Boston-based public broadcaster WGBH, and is currently being held in a detention facility.
The German foreign ministry has not yet responded to inquiries about the man’s current location.
A spokesperson from the ministry told reporters,
“The decision on whether someone can enter the U.S. rests with U.S. border authorities.”
However, they clarified that this is not a travel warning.
During his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has enforced stricter border policies to combat illegal immigration.
Earlier this week, three German nationals were detained at the U.S. border.
Two of them were returned to Germany, while the third has been in contact with the German consulate in Boston.
