Re:Is it safe to travel to the United States with your phone?
by Majromax on Sunday March 23, 2025 @09:53AM
(#43452943)
> My gut tells me that the people getting blocked at the border are either running into extremely overzealous border guards OR are making some kind of ruckus anyway and complaining to the media after provoking guards somehow.
My default guess is Goodhart's Law.
The current administration expressly values 'tough' border enforcement, and it publicly uses removals and associated statistics to describe how 'tough' it is being.
Border agents respond to these incentives by looking for any excuse to deny or remove would-be entrants, minimizing the independent judgment and discretion that's an ordinary part of the job.
It's not a 'top down order', but it's an entirely predictable consequence of the administration's messaging.
My default guess is Goodhart's Law.
The current administration expressly values 'tough' border enforcement, and it publicly uses removals and associated statistics to describe how 'tough' it is being.
Border agents respond to these incentives by looking for any excuse to deny or remove would-be entrants, minimizing the independent judgment and discretion that's an ordinary part of the job.
It's not a 'top down order', but it's an entirely predictable consequence of the administration's messaging.