Two German teenagers hoping to explore the United States were detained and deported after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) flagged their loosely arranged travel itinerary as suspicious.
Charlotte Pohl, 19, and Maria Lepere, 18, arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 18, planning to spend five weeks traveling the islands before continuing on to California and then Costa Rica following their high school graduation, according to the German newspaper Ostsee Zeitung.
Despite having valid travel authorizations through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), the teens had not pre-booked accommodations for their entire stay in Hawaii—something that reportedly raised concerns for CBP officers.
The travelers said they were held for several hours at Honolulu Airport, where they claim they underwent full-body scans and strip searches. According to their account, they were then issued green prison uniforms and placed in a holding facility with long-term detainees, some allegedly facing serious criminal charges.
The teenagers described sleeping on thin, moldy mattresses and being warned by guards to avoid expired food.
The following morning, CBP informed the pair they would be deported. Rather than return to Germany, the teens requested to be sent to Japan, where they continued their trip.
What message are we sending the rest of the world, to people thinking of coming here for vacation? What was our message to these two teenage girls? “Welcome to Police State America. Now get the hell out!”