American Border Officials Attempt To Deny Exit To Danish National

by Janet Phelan

Hanna Jaeckel had made up her mind. After carefully considering the  current economic and political situation in the United States, the  sixty-seven-year-old Danish–born woman weeded through a lifetime of  possessions, packed up her Chevrolet SUV and, accompanied by her  Rottweiler, Katinka, took off for the Mexican border.

Jaeckel, who had been residing in the U.S. for over 40 years, punctuated by a couple of years when she and her former husband lived in  Indonesia, had already secured a rental in Progreso, a fishing village  in the Yucatan Peninsula. Progreso is popular with the American and  Canadian “snowbirds.” Snowbirds, as they are called, are retirees who  spend the winter months down South, and migrate back up North for the  spring and summer.

But Jaeckel is no snowbird. When she closed the doors on her home in  Bridgeport, Connecticut, it was to be for good. Her home of twenty-four  years had been foreclosed upon and, after several months of reviewing  her options, she opted to move to Mexico. She hadn’t counted on  overzealous American border officials attempting to block her egress.

It took Jaeckel four days to drive from Connecticut  to the Brownsville/Matamoros border crossing.  On approaching the  border, she reports that she was detained by two American border guards, who told her to turn around and go back.  “We can’t let you go,” they  told her.  She informed them she was intent on going. She states they  then adopted an authoritarian manner with her, and began to demand more  and more documents.

They initially told her that her Danish passport “wasn’t enough.”  They  asked for proof of ownership of her car. She provided title and  registration. They then asked if she had any other proof of identity.   She reports pulling out her Danish driver’s license and an international driver’s license.  The guards then told her that these documents  weren’t valid.  When she informed them that the Bridgeport DMV had told  her differently, they switched gears and demanded her Danish birth  certificate, which she provided to them.

At that point, she reports they retired to a nearby building. When they  returned, she heard one of them informing the other, “I ran her and she  is not on any of our lists.” Jaeckel wonders what lists those were and  why that would be of any issue.

The guards then began another tack.  “Mexico is very violent. We don’t  think it is safe for you to travel there. We are only trying to protect  you,”  one of them offered.  When she declared she was going anyway, one of the guards informed her, “We don’t think we are going to let you  go.” At that point, Jaeckel reports pulling out her cell phone and  stating she was calling the Danish Embassy.  The guards relented and let her cross over.

All told, Jaeckel was detained for two hours.  She reports making the  trip to Progreso in four days without further incident.  “The United  States has become a police state, “ she declares. “They had no right to  try to prevent me from leaving and if I hadn’t threatened to call the  Embassy, they would not have let me pass over.”

Jaeckel says she is delighted with her new home in Progreso, which is  about a quarter of a mile from the ocean.  “I am very impressed with the openness and friendliness of the Mexican people,” she says.  “There is  an underlying fear I have sensed in America in the last four years and I don’t feel it here.” She says she feels fortunate in having decided to  leave when she did.

“If there is another 911-type event,” she says, “they may close the borders. I’m so glad I got out when I did.”

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