I vividly remember standing here in January:
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Americans haven't forgotten that that crime against humanity was committed by foreign nationals who had been welcomed into the USA with open arms.
Since then, I think the USA has struggled to get the balance right between caution and openness.
Arguably, the pendulum swung too far between 2021-2025 (remember that one of the top reasons voters gave for rejecting the Democrats and electing Trump was uncontrolled immigration), and arguably it's swinging too far in the other direction now.
I can fully understand how a CBP officer is more afraid of letting in the next perpetrator of a terrorist act, than of blocking a tourist for no reason. They
shouldn't be blocking tourists for no reason -- but if it's happening, it's not difficult to understand how that could be the case.
We have no idea what it's like to fear a terrorist act on home soil.
Hopefully the pendulum will swing back to the centre soon... whatever that looks like.