BAD NEIGHBORS

Trump to Require Some Canadian Visitors to Be Fingerprinted

The proposed rule might take effect as soon as April 11.

To all the Canadians hoping to spend their summer down south: new travel rules may be waiting for you under the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump is readying new policies that could force Canadian tourists to register their information with the U.S. government and submit to fingerprinting if they’re staying longer than 30 days.

These visitors now have to create an account with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and schedule a background check where they’ll give fingerprints.

They also have to provide key information about their personal lives: their phone number, date of birth, family information, address, criminal records, and immigration history.

The rule is set to take effect April 11. Anyone that doesn’t comply with the rule—from Canadian snowbirds to non-U.S. citizens visiting family—might face penalties.

Some forms, like the I-94 travel document, are accepted in lieu of the registration.

The policy proposal comes in the midst of Trump’s trade war with Canada and widespread immigration crackdown. Trump announced on that he was going to double the tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum.

He had already planned to place a 25 percent tariff on the items but quickly raised it to 50 percent after hearing that Ontario Premier Doug Ford has imposed a retribution tax on electricity.

Ford said Tuesday that he would meet with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington D.C. on Thursday to discuss renewing the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement ahead of the April 2 tariff deadline.

He said Ontario would “suspend its 25 per cent surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota.”

Canada is the top supplier of iron, steel, and aluminum to the U.S. The nation imported $11.4 billion worth of aluminum and $7.6 billion worth of iron and steel from Canada last year. A 25 percent tariff on Canadian aluminum could cost the U.S. 100,000 jobs, according to the CEO of one of the country’s largest aluminum makers.

Trump’s also threatened a 250 percent tariff on Canadian dairy products and a substantial increase on auto tariffs starting April 2.

Conversely, he’s demanded Canada drop its tariffs on U.S. agricultural produce and called for Canada to “become our cherished 51st state.”

The Trump administration has also taken a severe stance on illegal immigration, promising to seal the southern border on day one of his presidency and prevent “aliens engaged in an invasion of the United States.” Last month the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act to “track illegal aliens and compel them to leave the country voluntarily.”

This law has never been enforced before. It requires non-U.S. citizens over the age of 14 to register and be fingerprinted within 30 days of entry. Anyone 18 and above has to carry proof of registration at all times.

The Daily Beast has reached out to the Trump administration for comment.

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Kenneal PattersonBreaking News Intern

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