This isn't all that new, though, and you don't turn border staff into interrogating thugs overnight by Presidential decree. The culture of harassment of anybody they don't happen to like has been there a long time. Two neighbours of mine (Australian, honest farming folk, and looking exactly like honest farming folk) were similarly harassed several years ago, and in 2003 a journalist from the extremely respectable women's mag called New Idea was: ...interrogated, fingerprinted, had mugshots taken and was refused access to a lawyer.
"I was being made to sign documents and swear oaths - and I was quite concerned that that could be misconstrued and I had no help at all," she said.
Ms Smethurst was expecting to interview Newton-John about breast cancer on a visa she had used on eight other occasions.
But security staff withheld clearance leaving her in detention for almost 15 hours.
"Their justification for refusing me was that under American law ... [they] have the right to refuse a foreign journalist entry," she said.
"They said to me you don't understand, you have no choice, no rights here under American law."
I'm glad people are concerned now, but this didn't happen overnight.
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...interrogated, fingerprinted, had mugshots taken and was refused access to a lawyer.
"I was being made to sign documents and swear oaths - and I was quite concerned that that could be misconstrued and I had no help at all," she said.
Ms Smethurst was expecting to interview Newton-John about breast cancer on a visa she had used on eight other occasions.
But security staff withheld clearance leaving her in detention for almost 15 hours.
"Their justification for refusing me was that under American law ... [they] have the right to refuse a foreign journalist entry," she said.
"They said to me you don't understand, you have no choice, no rights here under American law."
I'm glad people are concerned now, but this didn't happen overnight.