The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has issued a 2025 supplement to its travel advisory, urging academic staff to travel to the United States only when essential. This update reflects recent border incidents and legal developments.
CAUT encourages particular caution for individuals who:
- Are citizens/residents of countries under or at risk of U.S. travel bans
- Have visited such countries recently
- Are involved in research or public discourse critical of the U.S. administration
- Identify as transgender or have gender markers that differ from sex assigned at birth
In addition to the CAUT advisory, TUFA would like to remind members of a few important considerations that may also be relevant when planning travel to the U.S.
- Customs agents may access your online presence, even if there is no political content stored directly on your devices.
- Individuals with a previous work history in the U.S. may be subject to additional scrutiny related to their prior visa status or length of stay.
- Travelling with wiped or empty devices, such as phones or laptops, can raise suspicions and potentially lead to further inspection, including device seizure or deeper searches.
- Deleting files from your devices does not guarantee they are fully erased or unrecoverable.
This article from The Guardian offers advice on how to protect your data at the US border, including conducting a personal risk assessment and selectively deleting sensitive information. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security advises you to check with your IT department before travelling to ensure your data is secure.
Trent University President Cathy Bruce encouraged faculty to share any border-related inquiries they receive with the Research Office, so they can be forwarded to Universities Canada, which is in dialogue with the federal government on this issue. We kindly ask that you copy TUFA on these emails as well.
Please click here to read the latest update from CAUT.