Flagpoling?

This is in response to this fediverse post: https://hcommons.social/@jnl/113493155260870364

Pat and I drove to the UUA GA in Fort Worth in 2005. On our way back, car trouble stranded us in El Paso, TX, for three days. The motel we stayed at was near the airport and I learned a bit about the US immigration process.

One morning, picking through the "continental breakfast" options in the motel lobby, I noticed a pile of luggage near the door and a bunch of people waiting to get into a large van. The person behind the desk explained that the people in the van were going to cross the border and immediately return to satisfy the requirements to renew their visa to stay in the US. They said that when they got back to the motel they'd pick up their luggage, go back to the airport, and fly home. The risk was if they were not allowed back in they were stuck in Mexico without their luggage or any way to get back home. But they had to risk it to remain in the U.S. legally.

If what I was told was true, even for someone living in northern New York it was cheaper, easier, and quicker to pay for a package deal (two flights, one night in a motel, and all the van rides) through El Paso than to hop into Canada and back. Most of the people that day appeared to me (for what that's worth, a very small sample) to be of Indian subcontinent heritage.

That was during Dubya's reign. I imagine it'll be much riskier soon.