Latest news with #NikkiSaroukos
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘Look at posts you've liked': Scary US truth
A US immigration lawyer has warned Aussies heading to the US to be 'aware and prepared' following a former NSW police officer's 'terrifying' ordeal. Andrea Szew, who has specialised in US immigration law for over 20 years, explained that tourists are now being subjected to heightened scrutiny from border officials at American airports following a crackdown under the Trump administration. 'They can look at who's posts you've liked, they can look at friends posts you have been tagged in – they can look at anything,' she told Nine News. The California-based lawyer said for Aussies to 'come, be aware, be prepared but don't be scared not to arrive'. There are claims some officers are emboldened by Trump's America-first policies, the publication reported, and if they suspect anything, immigration officials can search your phone or laptop. Nikki Saroukos claims she was a victim of this after being subjected to invasive searches, 'humiliating' treatment and a night in federal prison. The former NSW police officer was heading to Honolulu to visit her husband, a US Army lieutenant stationed in Hawaii, for three weeks with her mother. However, the moment she landed she says she was 'treated like a criminal'. She had her phone and luggage searched, was forced to spend a night behind bars despite having no criminal record and a valid ESTA visa, before being sent back to Australia. She claimed an officer told her she had 'too many clothes in her suitcase for a three and a half week trip'. Mrs Saroukos, from south-west Sydney, felt she was being racially profiled as officers allegedly questioned her tattoos. 'It sounds terrible that someone's subjective opinion can be that powerful to send you back on a flight all the way to Australia, but unfortunately it is a subjective decision,' Ms Szew told Nine News. Former cop detained, deported from US In an interview with Mrs Saroukos said she visited Hawaii three times in recent months under the ESTA visa waiver program to see her husband with no issues. But this time, when she and her mother arrived to Daniel K Inouye International Airport in Honolulu on May 18, the duo were heavily questioned. Her mother was eventually free to go but Mrs Saroukos was subjected to further interrogation. 'They questioned me about the demographic of my suburb and what crimes I was exposed to as a police officer,' she said. 'They were asking me about ice and meth and whether I knew how much was being imported from New Zealand.' She said she had 'know idea how to answer the questions'. 'I was just dumbfounded,' Ms Saroukos said. 'They took a 45-minute sworn statement where they grilled me on my stream of income, my marriage, my phone history. 'They were clutching at straws. They even asked why I had deleted Instagram three days prior, I was completely honest.' After hours of questioning, a DNA swab and a sworn statement, a supervisor informed her that her statement was deemed inadmissable and that she would not be entering the United States. Mrs Saroukos said she was handcuffed, subjected to an in-depth cavity search before being taken to a federal detention facility. Upon arriving at the prison she was fingerprinted again, ordered to strip naked, squat and cough, and handed prison issued briefs and green outerwear. Mrs Saroukos says she was taken to a shared cell where her roommate was a Fijian woman who was being held over similar circumstances. 'There were prisoners everywhere. I learned that I was being housed with convicted murderers,' she said. '(Other inmates) told me I looked like a fish out of water and even gave me soap and a towel.' Mrs Saroukos was eventually freed and driven back to the airport where she was deported back to Australia. She and her family have now hired an immigration lawyer in the US to probe what can be done about her ordeal. Travel advice for Aussies heading to the US As of May 6, the Department of Foreign Affairs has toughened its travel advice for the USA in response to the Trump administration's increasingly harsh border controls. While the overall rating of green to 'exercise normal safety precautions' has not changed, it has beefed up warnings about being detained at the border and requirements to carry identification while travelling within the country. 'Entry requirements are strict. US authorities have broad powers to decide if you're eligible to enter and may determine that you are inadmissable for any reason under US law,' the government's Smartraveller site states. 'Check US entry, registration, transit and exit requirements. Whether you're travelling on a visa or under the Visa Waiver Program, ensure you understand all relevant terms and conditions before attempting to enter the United States.' It also warned that Aussies will now require a passport or United States-issued photo identification which meets the US Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) REAL ID requirements to board domestic flights in the United States.' Travel to the US drops Tourism Economics says foreign traveller arrivals in the US are expected to sharply decline this year. The travel data company revised its outlook after Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs announcement on April 2 — forecasting a 9.4 per cent decline in international visitor arrivals. Tourism Economics' report says decisions from the Trump Administration are creating a 'negative sentiment shift toward the US among travellers' — with Mr Trump's stance on border security and immigration one of the factors cited as discouraging visits. – with Ella McIlveen
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Aussies are issued a one-word travel warning that should terrify anyone heading to the US
Aussie tourists have been warned the decision to deport them from the US is now 'subjective' as Donald Trump takes a hardline stance on immigration. Californian immigration lawyer Andrea Szew issued the warning on Wednesday following a spate of Aussie complaining they had been randomly sent back. Last week, former NSW police officer Nikki Saroukos, 25, told Daily Mail Australia she was detained, stripped, and held overnight in Hawaii for 'having too much luggage'. Ms Szew said tourists will continue to be subjected to heightened security at US borders. She said border agents can choose who they will detain based on their 'subjective' suspicions. 'Sounds terrible that someone's subjective opinion can be that powerful to send me back on a flight all the way back to Australia, but unfortunately it is a subjective decision,' she told Nine News. She said travellers could be strip searched and did not have a right to privacy on their devices like laptops and phones including social media accounts. 'They can look at whose post you liked, they can look at the friends posts you've been tagged in, they can look at everything,' she said. She said some border officials have been boldened by the President's hardline nationalist stance on immigration. Australians can minimise their chances of a negative experience at the border by never booking a one way ticket, have your travel itinerary printed and on your person and take extra care filling out the visa application. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading have updated their travel advice regarding the US, saying entry requirements are 'strict'. Former NSW police officer Nikki Saroukos, 25, was detained by US border officials upon entering the country via Honolulu, Hawaii on Sunday. The 25-year-old thought it would be a routine visit to see her husband who has been stationed as a US Army lieutenant on the Pacific island and US state since August, 2023. At no point was she given a reason for her detention, beyond the fact that border officials did not believe her story that she was visiting her husband after claiming she had packed more clothing than was necessary for a three-week stay. 'We went through customs and border security, as per usual, and we got stopped to check our passports,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'I'm an ex-police officer and he was taking a little bit, checking stuff on the computer. My mum started asking, like, ''Oh, is there a problem?'' and asked if he needed any more information. 'He went from being super calm, very nice, even giving my mum a compliment, to just instantly turning.' The officials attitude change was just the beginning of a two-day long episode during which she was cuffed, frog-marched through the airport, cavity searched and locked-up overnight. 'I was in a foreign country. I had no idea what my rights were. I was terrified,' she said. 'I thought I was never going to get out of that facility.' 'Because of all the horror stories I've heard from other travelers traveling through the United States, I kept asking the officers if I was safe in that facility, because I felt like they put my life at risk because I was being housed with criminals.' DFAT adjusted its travel advice three times in just one month in April in response to reports of increasingly harsh border controls. The USA's overall travel rating remains 'green – exercise normal safety precautions', however, the department ramped up border warnings. 'Entry requirements are strict. US authorities have broad powers to decide if you're eligible to enter and may determine that you are inadmissible for any reason under US law,' DFAT's website read. 'Check US entry, registration, transit and exit requirements. Whether you're travelling on a visa or under the Visa Waiver Program, ensure you understand all relevant terms and conditions before attempting to enter the United States. 'Expect enhanced screening procedures, including for domestic flights within the United States ... US authorities actively pursue, detain and deport people who are in the country illegally. Be prepared to show documents proving your legal presence.'
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- News.com.au
‘Terrified': Ex-cop jailed and deported during holiday to US
A former NSW police officer has described the terrifying ordeal she faced after she was detained, jailed overnight and deported from the United States – despite travelling there legally on a tourist visa to visit her US military husband. Nikki Saroukos from south-west Sydney says she was 'treated like a criminal', denied her rights and subjected to invasive searches, humiliating treatment and a night in federal prison – simply for trying to spend time with her American partner stationed in Hawaii. Now back in Australia and still reeling from the trauma, Nikki and her mother are demanding answers – and warning others how easily international travel can turn into a nightmare. Mrs Saroukos has visited Hawaii three times in recent months under the ESTA visa waiver program to see her husband, a US Army lieutenant she married in December 2024 after a whirlwind long-distance romance. The couple met through a dating app and quickly knew they wanted to be together. He joined the army in 2022 and has been serving as a US Army lieutenant on the Pacific island and US state since August 2023. 'He's serving their country,' Mrs Saroukos told in an emotional interview. 'We sacrificed so much to make this work. To be mocked and detained like that – it's appalling.' Nikki and her mother arrived to Daniel K Inouye International Airport in Honolulu last Sunday for what was supposed to be a routine three-week holiday when things took a sharp and unexpected turn at the customs desk. 'The officer began to look troubled at his computer to which my mum offered to provide more information,' she explained. 'From there he screamed – 'Shut up and get to the back of the line, go now' – at the top of his lungs. 'My fight or flight immediately kicked in. I'd seen horror stories about this stuff. I just bawled on the spot,' Nikki recalled. 'We were in such a vulnerable position. We didn't know their rules well and he was obviously carrying a gun.' Nikki, who lives with with anxiety and PTSD, and her mother were then taken to a holding area for questioning where she offered contact with her husband and to show her marriage certificate – to which they laughed in her face. The pair were told, 'Don't say anything, don't talk and don't touch your phones,' by officers before their bags were tossed out and inspected along with their documents. 'I didn't hide anything,' she said. Her mother was free to go after the search but Nikki was taken to a secondary location where she was subjected to further interrogation. There, she was forced to surrender her phone and passwords, and questioned about her work as a former police officer. 'They questioned me about the demographic of my suburb and what crimes I was exposed to as a police officer,' she said. 'They were asking me about ice and meth and whether I knew how much was being imported from New Zealand' 'I had no idea how to answer the questions, I was just dumbfounded.' 'They took a 45-minute sworn statement where they grilled me on my stream of income, my marriage, my phone history,' she said. 'They were clutching at straws. They even asked why I had deleted Instagram three days prior, I was completely honest.' After the statement concluded she was told to wait outside where she was then subjected to a DNA swab – which she was given no explanation for. She was further forced to sign a document declaring she was not a part of a cartel and had no affiliation with gang members. She also signed a document stating her husband was her next of kin and that they would contact him to inform him of her whereabouts – something she later learned never happened. After hours of questioning and a sworn statement, a supervisor informed her that her statement was deemed inadmissible and that she would not be entering the United States. 'I've never been so terrified in my life. I froze. They said 'We'll be sending you to jail.' I was just shaking, sweating – I couldn't believe it,' she said. Nikki says she was handcuffed, subjected to an in-depth cavity search and marched through the airport in full view of the public before being placed into a car and driven ten minutes to a federal detention facility. 'The officers told me I wasn't under arrest but I was cuffed and searched. My jewellery was taken and not secured. I felt stripped of all my dignity,' she said. 'I told the officer that from my understanding when you place someone in cuffs it's an indication of arrest and you need to read them their rights.' To which an officer replied, 'It's for our safety.' When she asked a female officer whether she'd be safe inside the prison they told her, 'I can't answer that, I've never been there. I can assume you'd be safe to a degree.' Upon arriving at the prison around 3.30pm, she was fingerprinted again, ordered to strip naked, squat and cough, and handed prison issued briefs and green outerwear. 'When they finished with the search there was a male officer standing outside who looked confused. He asked me why I was here to which I told him what had happened,' she said. 'He told me 'Wow. You should not be here right now, you have Trump to thank for that though.' When she asked if she would be fed, officers told her she had missed the cut off for dinner time and would not be provided any food today. She was further forced to sign a waiver where she agreed she would not be making or receiving any phone calls – something her lawyer later informed her was against basic human rights. Officers also told her that if she needed to take a shower she would not be provided with a towel and was to use a wet paper towel to clean herself. 'The entire time I was just thinking, 'Shut up and do what they say and you'll get out of here,' she said. Nikki says she was taken to a shared cell where her roommate was a Fijian woman who was being held over similar circumstances. 'There were prisoners everywhere. I learned that I was being housed with convicted murderers,' she said. '(Other inmates) told me I looked like a fish out of water and even gave me soap and a towel,' she said. 'As a former police officer it was such an irony to be on the other side of things. Those inmates treated me better than anyone else.' Nikki's husband and mother had been waiting outside the airport for five hours with no information on her whereabouts. 'A Hawaiin Airlines ground manager told them that their 'best guess is that she is there [the detention centre]. That was all they had to go off.' Nikki recalls that at 6am after only receiving an hour of sleep, she was woken by prison guards bashing on the metal cell doors. 'I just kept thinking that someone has to come save me and that this surely wasn't really happening,' she said. She was then told by officers that she would be leaving in ten minutes and was to clean her cell and discard any rubbish. She was changed back into her own clothing before being transported back to the airport, again in handcuffs. There, she was marched through crowds of people by officers before being taken to another holding room where she was finally given a small bottle of water, a muesli bar and a packet of chips. 'It was just so humiliating and embarrassing,' she said. She was then informed she had a call from the Australian Embassy who had been closed over the weekend during the ordeal. 'They told me they couldn't do anything and that no one had the power to help,' she said. She asked the embassy to call her mother and let her know that she was being put on a 12.15pm flight back to Sydney. 'I couldn't fly by myself, I was terrified.' She was then finally allowed a three-minute phone call with her husband who was 'inconsolable'. 'He was crying so much. When I asked if he had known where I was he told me 'nobody told us anything.'' Nikki was then escorted to the gate by two officers – one in front and one behind – who then handed her phone and passport to flight attendants. Once in the air, she requested her phone to which a flight attendant said 'You will get it given back when touch down and it will be handed over to Australian authorities.' Upon landing in Australia, Nikki was forced to stay on the plane where she expressed her concerns to an empathetic air hostess. 'She told me didn't agree with what was happening.' Once being free to de-board the plane, an Australia Customers Officer was waiting for her where he handed her an envelope with her belongings. 'He told me I was free to leave which I couldn't believe,' she said. Nikki's husband is planning to apply for an honourable discharge from the US Army as a result so that he can live and work in Australia. 'We don't know yet what he'll do here. We're just too shaken up to even think about it,' she said. 'I never want to return to the United States,' she assured Nikki and her family have now hired an immigration lawyer in the US to probe what can be done about her ordeal. US Customs and Border Protection refused to comment when contacted by
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Australian woman, 25, urges travellers to avoid the United States after she was detained, stripped and forced to spend the night in a federal prison for a ridiculous reason
A young Aussie who was detained, stripped and held overnight in a US federal prison while attempting to visit her husband, a US citizen, has spoken out, asking Australians to think twice before travelling to the country. Former NSW police officer Nikki Saroukos, 25, was detained by US border officials upon entering the country via Honolulu, Hawai i on Sunday.. It was a routine visit for the 25-year-old whose husband has been stationed as a lieutenant in the US Army on the island since August, 2023. At no point was she given a reason for her detention, beyond the fact that border officials did not believe her story that she was visiting her husband after claiming she had packed more clothing than was necessary for a three-week stay She was joined by her mother at the time with plans to spend three weeks together, including weekends spent by the sea during her husband's days off. After clearing customs, however, it became clear things would not be as simple as they had been in her many previous visits. 'We went through, you know, customs and border security, as per usual, and we got stopped to check our passports,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'I'm an ex-police officer and he was taking a little bit, checking stuff on the computer. My mum started asking, like, ''Oh, is there a problem?'' and asked if he needed any more information. 'He went from being super calm, very nice, even giving my mum a compliment, to just instantly turning. 'He yelled at the top of his lungs and told my mum to go stand at the back of the line because she was being nosy and asking too many questions.' 'Everyone in the airport kind of just froze because his voice literally echoed three rooms over... that's how loud he was.' Soon, the pair were taken downstairs where officers proceeded to search their luggage. 'They questioned me, stating that because of the amount of clothes that I had in my suitcase that I was intending on overstaying my ESTA visa which, I said, "I'm really not, like I have a return flight home". They were then taken to a private room where the 25-year-old was forced to hand over her phone and passcode. 'They would come back and forth, ask me questions about my experience in the police force. They tried to get an understanding of, like, what I was exposed to in the job. 'They tried to insinuate that I was part of like gang-related syndicates, or that I was giving intel to criminal organizations'. Her mother, who was being questioned in the same room, was soon allowed to leave. It would be nearly 24 hours before the two would see each other again. Ms Saroukos felt she had been singled-out from the beginning. 'It was kind of like they locked-in on me and then they ran with it. It wasn't, it wasn't like a fair process, [is] what I believe.' Alone, the officers requested a written statement on her reasons for travel, income and personal information regarding her relationship with her husband. Some time later, she was required to sign a declaration stating she had no cartel affiliations before being subjected to an oral DNA swab and fingerprinting. She was then informed her written statement had been rejected and would be forced to spend the night in a federal detention facility before being deported back to Australia. Ms Saroukos then requested a phone call with her husband and officers assured her they would inform him on her behalf - a promise she would learn the following day they did not make good on. Soon, she was handcuffed and marched through the airport in full view of the public before being subjected to a full cavity search at Honolulu Federal Detention Facility. 'It was obviously very invasive, like they were feeling everything,' she said. Officers then removed her handcuffs and, after another round of fingerprinting, Ms Saroukos was forced to strip naked before she was asked to dress into prison clothes and returned to the processing room where, she claimed, an officer expressed his disapproval of her detention. 'He said to me that I should not be there. He goes: 'I do not know why they brought you here, but... we are seeing this more than anything, and it's really alarming.'' Ms Saroukos was then processed and given a blanket. She was told she had missed the cut-off for dinner and would have to go hungry and was denied a shower on the basis there were no available towels. She was then ushered into the facility where she briefly mingled with the other inmates. 'Obviously conversing with the inmates, I was aware of their charges. And one of the women in there that was speaking to me, she was convicted of murder... the facility was intense.' At 8.40pm, she was locked in a cell with a Fijian woman she learned had been similarly detained upon attempting to enter the country for a wedding. 'Apparently, she was forced to take a pregnancy test, and also she was forced to take an injection, to which she didn't know what that injection was. 'And she was leaving two days after my departure from that facility, because they couldn't find her a flight.' 'It was one of those things where I was in a foreign country. I had no idea what my rights were. I was terrified. 'I thought I was never going to get out of that facility. 'Because of all the horror stories I've heard from other travelers traveling through the United States, I kept asking the officers if I was safe in that facility, because I felt like they put my life at risk because I was being housed with criminals. 'I didn't feel safe, and even staying in there overnight, I didn't get any sleep, because I was constantly worried about what was going to happen to me and my family didn't know where I was.' Meanwhile, her mother and husband were desperately searching for answers, before allegedly being told by a Hawaiian Airlines staff member she had likely been removed to the nearby federal detention facility. After a sleepless night, Ms Saroukos returned to the airport under police custody and was allowed to call the Australian embassy. She requested they inform her mother she had been booked on a 12.15pm flight in order that she might also book a ticket. Several hours later, she was once again escorted by officers in view of the public to her gate and made to board the flight ahead of all other passengers. 'I was actually escorted onto the plane. 'I was the first person everybody was looking at me, because I had two officers escorting me.' Some time later, passengers began to board the flight. Among them, her mother. 'It was probably the best feeling in the world to see my mother after not knowing whether I was even going to come out of that prison, and hadn't spoken to anyone. 'I had no contact. I had no idea if they were okay, and my mom obviously made me aware when I got to speak to her for the first time, that she had no idea where I was. 'So it was, it just felt really good to be back with my mum again.' Asked how she felt looking back on the incident, Ms Saroukos said she felt 'disgusted' and vowed never to return to the US. 'I felt like I was targeted, and they treated me like I was a criminal who committed a crime, and they kept telling me that I had done nothing wrong, but yet their actions don't reflect what they were telling me,' she said. 'I never want to return back to the United States like they've pretty much traumatized me [from] ever returning back there, which automatically strains my marriage as well, because my husband lives over there. Ms Saroukos said her husband is now attempting to resign from the US military to move home and be with her. 'So the holiday was [planned with] pure, pure intentions, and it quickly turned into the holiday from hell.' Ms Saroukos is one of many international travellers who has made the decision to find alternative travel destinations in recent months. In April, University of Sydney academic Gemma Smart cancelled plans to travel to the US for a work conference based on fears she would be discriminated against for her academic background and disability status. 'I do know I'm not the only academic who has made a similar decision about this conference or others, and I think the impacts of this are hard to quantify, but potentially devastating,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'Given many of us are in a cohort that was also affected by Covid-19 restrictions, it's difficult to assess how this will affect the state of academic research moving forward. Ms Smart wants all Australians to consider how their backgrounds could potentially affect their chances of facing a similar treatment to Ms Saroukos. 'It's important for Australians, particularly those in minority groups, to be aware of the concerns raised by many entering the USA. 'For academics, especially those of us working in areas broadly related to DEI, those of us involved in activism or advocacy, or those who have sensitive data privacy concerns due to the type of research we're doing we have to seriously consider whether travel to the USA is appropriate at this time. 'If it can't be avoided, care should be taken to secure data and personal security.'
