University Teachers’ Association Warns Canadian Academics Against Travelling to the United States

The national organization representing university faculty associations across Canada has issued a travel advisory to its 72,000 members warning academic professions against non-essential travel to the United States.

The advisory issued last week states travellers to the US are “increasingly vulnerable to preclearance zones and border searches that may compromise research confidentiality and academic freedom.”

Robin Whitaker, vice president of CAUT and an associate professor at Memorial University, said CAUT has been closely following reports of foreign nationals being questioned, denied entry or detained when attempting to cross a border with the United States.

“We took legal advice, and I think the balance of evidence is that (this is) the time for academics to be very, very cautious and concerned about crossing the border,” Whitaker told PressProgress.

CAUT is advising academics who are citizens or residents of a country where there are diplomatic tensions with the US, or who have recently traveled to those countries, to exercise particular caution when considering traveling to the US.

In particular, academics who have “expressed negative opinions” about the Trump administration or “whose research could be seen as being critical of the current administration,” as well as travellers who are transgender, should be extra cautious, according to the advisory.

Given the rapidly evolving political landscape in the United States and reports of individuals encountering difficulties crossing the border, CAUT strongly recommends that academic staff travel to the U.S. only if essential and necessary.

Read more: www.caut.ca/latest/2025/…

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“If you look at the list of categories of academics that we’re particularly issuing caution to, it’s a pretty big list, when you think about it,” said Whitaker.

The travel advisory from CAUT follows a statement the organization issued in March regarding a questionnaire sent to academics working on projects with US funding assessing if their project aligns with the Trump administration’s political agenda. Canadian researchers were asked to confirm their work did not include climate or environmental justice components, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) clauses or “gender ideology.”

“Even my own research — I’ve done research on abortion access, I published on abortion access from a pro choice perspective — I think any of those things would be of concern right now,” said Whitaker.

On President Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order calling for more rigorous screenings of foreign nationals attempting to enter the US.

Earlier this month, Global Affairs Canada updated its travel advice for the United States to note “US authorities strictly enforce entry requirements” and that travellers should “expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices.”

Despite that, the United States remains at the lowest risk level given by the Canadian government. Canadians are advised to “take normal security precautions.”

CAUT’s travel advisory identifies the expanded powers of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in preclearance zones — located in eight Canadian airports as well as the Vancouver train terminal, Port of Vancouver and B.C.-Washington ferry routes — that came into effect in 2019 as being of particular concern.

Preclearance zones have US CBP officers stationed in foreign transportation hubs in order to inspect travelers before entering the US.

Under the expanded powers, Canadians cannot withdraw from a preclearance zone after entering, can be subject to physical searches, including strip searches by US officers, and can be detained for questioning.

The CAUT travel advisory notes that while the powers granted to CBP officers in preclearance zones haven’t changed since 2019, “reports continue to suggest that those search powers are being more frequently and arbitrarily exercised.”

Additionally, CBP officers can ask for passwords to access social media accounts and websites linked to the devices they search at the border. Failure to cooperate likely means being denied entry to the US, often without having electronic devices returned. Interactions at the border or in preclearance zones are recorded in a US database and could lead to difficulty entering the US in the future.

“There really is no effective legal way for a Canadian resident to challenge the actions of US border officers at a US point of entry,” states the travel advisory.

CAUT also recommends academics carefully consider the information stored on their electronic devices when crossing the border and that they take precautions to protect sensitive information.

Whitaker said that as a social scientist, she offers research participants confidentiality. If her devices were to be searched when crossing the border, that confidentiality could be compromised.

CAUT’s warning comes as many academics get ready for the spring conference season, with many major academic conferences organized in the US.

“Collaboration is just a normal part of our work,” Whitaker said. “The exchange of information, knowledge and ideas, that’s how academia thrives and how research thrives.”

“In normal times, this would be routine for us and an important part of our work, but right now these aren’t normal times, unfortunately.”

In January, Nathan Kalman-Lamb, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick, was denied entry to the US after attempting to fly from Montreal to Washington, DC for an event to promote his new book, co-written with Derek Silva, The End of College Football.

Kalman-Lamb wasn’t given any reason for his entry to the US being denied, though he told The Nation, an American magazine, he suspects his public criticism of the genocide in Gaza could be a factor.

Whitaker said the Trump administration’s targeting of academics and post-secondary institutions — from denying a French academic entry to the US to threatening to withhold funding from universities that do not comply with a list of the administration’s demands — are a threat to knowledge and research all over the world.

“This really is something that’s damaging to all of us, beyond any particular academic that might be a target,” said Whitaker. “This really is a collective loss.”

CAUT is also concerned Canada could be vulnerable to similar political forces as those targeting academics in the US. On March 31, CAUT issued a statement condemning Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s promise to “put an end to the imposition of woke ideology in the federal civil service and in the allocation of federal funds for university research.”

However, Whitaker also sees an opportunity for Canada to re-affirm its commitment to supporting academic freedom and protections.

“There’s a lot of opportunities for anyone who forms the government to really strengthen the post secondary sector and the research sector in Canada.”