A New Hampshire father and avid Trump supporter has been barred from re-entering the U.S. after a family vacation in Canada.
Chris Landry, who has been a legal U.S. resident since 1981 when he was three-years-old, was stopped at the border in Holton, Maine, despite having a green card.
“They pulled me aside and started questioning me about my past convictions in New Hampshire,” he told NBC News, speaking from New Brunswick. “They denied me re entry and said, you know, don’t come back or we will detain you.”
Landry, who was born in Canada, faced of marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license in 2004 and 2007.
He was given a suspended sentence and paid a fine, and has had no criminal record since.
“I never expected that I wouldn’t be able to go back home,” he told WMUR. “It was scary. I felt like I was being treated like a criminal.”
“The only way for me to get back in was to see a immigration judge,” he told NBC, adding that his future is now “uncertain” and he worries he may have to spend the rest of his life in Canada.
Landry was traveling with three of his children, who are all American citizens, when he was stopped. They will reportedly return to the U.S. in the coming days.
Though he was unable to vote in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Landry said he was a fan of Donald Trump. However he says his attitude towards the administration and its policies have now changed.
“I was definitely all for Make America Great Again and having a strong unified country and a bright future for my five American children, but now I feel differently,” he said.
In a statement, USCBP said: “Possessing a green card is a privilege, not a right, and under our nation’s laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if our laws are broken and abused.
“Lawful permanent residents presenting at a U.S. port of entry with previous criminal convictions, may be subject to mandatory detention and/ or may be asked to provide additional documentation to be set up for an immigration hearing.”
