OTTAWA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Canadian academics are being advised against all non-essential travel to the United States, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) said in a travel advisory to its members on Tuesday.
Given the rapidly evolving political landscape in the United States and reports of individuals encountering difficulties crossing the border, CAUT strongly recommended that academic staff travel to the U.S. only if essential and necessary, said the association, which represents more than 72,000 professors, researchers and other academics at Canada's public universities and colleges.
CAUT said academics of a country where there are diplomatic tensions with the United States, or with passport stamps evidencing recent travel to countries that may be subject to a travel ban or where there are diplomatic tensions with the United States, should be particularly cautious about U.S. travel.
The warning is particularly targeted to academics who have expressed negative opinions about the current U.S. administration or its policies, or those whose research could be seen as being at odds with the position of the current U.S. administration.
The group also recommended travelers who identify as transgender or whose travel documents indicate a sex other than their sex assigned at birth exercise particular caution.
Academics should carefully consider what information they have, or need to have, on their electronic devices when crossing borders and take actions to protect sensitive information where necessary, said CAUT.
According to local media, CAUT executive director David Robinson said the warning is the first time his group has advised against non-essential U.S. travel in the 11 years he's worked with them.
The Canadian government recently updated its U.S. travel advisory, warning residents they may face scrutiny from border guards and the possibility of detention if denied entry.
