On Jan. 26, the Federal Foreign Office of Germany issued a formal travel advisory to any German citizens traveling to the United States of America. This statement was made in response to the recent increase in aggression seen from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, also known as ICE, and Border Patrol officers.
According to the translation, the advisory asks travelers to keep an eye on the local news of the region they are traveling to, and to “Be vigilant and stay away from crowds of people whose environment could potentially lead to violence.” They tell citizens to remain silent and follow the instructions of officers if confronted. The advisory also reminds travelers to “note the existing identification requirement in several federal states.” The statement about identification requirements is related to an update of Germany’s U.S. travel advisory that was made last March, where they state that a visa or waiver allowing entry into the United States is not a guarantee that they will be able to enter the country. The update was made after incidents last March, where four German citizens were detained and jailed for weeks as soon as they reached the border.
On the official German Federal Foreign Office website, they mention the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a particular city where violent confrontations with the migration and security authorities have occurred. This is most likely connected to the recent deaths of American citizens Alex Pretti and Renée Good, who were shot and killed by ICE agents who were deployed in the city as part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge.”
Heartbreaking events like we have seen in Minnesota seem to be stirring up reactions from countries all over the world. Alongside Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands have also released statements advising citizens to proceed with caution when traveling to the United States. Many countries have been releasing statements similar to these since the start of Trump’s 2nd term. This has posed negative consequences for our economy, such as a severe drop in tourism. According to statistics from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in 2025, travel to the US dropped by 6%, with these numbers not showing any signs of improving. If our tourism continues to drop, we could see many towns that rely on tourism for their local economy start to suffer. President of WTTC’s, Julia Simpson, statement in May of 2025 still holds a lot of relevance: “While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the US government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign.”