Treasured Australian author detained and left sobbing by US customs officials

Travelling to the US to take part in a literary talk should be exciting, but for famed Australian children’s author Mem Fox, it became traumatic.

As Ms Fox went through customs, she was detained by the Customs and Border Protection officers for two hours.  The reason they detained her was they believed that she held an incorrect visa and was trying to enter the US illegally.  Ms Fox said the agents were “turbocharged” under the executive orders from President Trump and aimed to “humiliate and insult” those detained.

Talking to the ABC Ms Fox stated, “I have never in my life been spoken to with such insolence, treated with such disdain, with so many insults and with so much gratuitous impoliteness”. She added, “The entire interview took place with me standing, with my back to a room full of people in total public hearing and view — it was disgraceful.

“I felt like I had been physically assaulted which is why, when I got to my hotel room, I completely collapsed and sobbed like a baby, and I’m 70 years old.”

Taking to the written word, Ms Fox penned a letter of complaint to the Australian Embassy in Washington D.C. and to the US embassy in Canberra.  She said that she received a “charming” letter of apology.  However, it might be too little too late as Ms Fox stated, “At the moment I’m in so much shock about it, I can’t imagine going back to the states”.  She added, “I’d hate not to go back to the states because it’s been so good to me and Americans in general are not [like] the border police at LA airport.”

What do you think about the situation?  Do you think there should be more than just a letter of apology?  Let us know in the comments down below.