HOPE CONFERENCE ADDRESSES TRAVEL CONCERNS

We have heard from a number of potential HOPE attendees who are expressing concern over traveling to the United States from foreign countries, including Germany, China, and Canada. The chilling effect of the Trump administration's anti-immigrant posture is real - and having impacts on legitimate travel.

HOPE has always had a sizable international audience and it's one of the things that makes the conference so unique and lively. Talks, workshops, performances, and other content proposals are accepted from people of all backgrounds - professors, executives, students, activists, and artists - from all around the world.

But a recent incident has underlined the concerns that so many attendees have been expressing. A speaker felt compelled to withdraw their proposed talk, writing: "A couple of friends tried to attend RSA and were arrested at the border and refused entry to the U.S. Several other friends who have traveled from the E.U. to the U.S. since January have had the same issue. All have had their electronics confiscated (laptops, phones, gadgets, even MP3 players) and have yet to have had them returned."

These issues were not smoothed over by meeting advanced visa or other travel requirements. "I have tried to renew my ESTA visa waiver, which previously has been approved within 30 minutes of submission – it's been 10 days so far, and the status is stuck at 'Pending further review.'"

HOPE has coordinated with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to develop a set of guidelines for people visiting HOPE from abroad. Our new International Travel Tips page provides guidance on what to expect at the border. The advice applies to U.S. citizens, as well as non-citizens.

Notably, "at points of entry to the United States (e.g., an airport or land crossing), the government can engage in searches and seizures of your property without any suspicion of wrongdoing, and you will not be able to contact an attorney until you are either admitted or, if you're a non-citizen, denied entry."

The situation is not new, but the scale of seizures, delays, and being denied entry seems to have greatly increased. At least ten countries have issued travel advisories for their citizens considering travel to the U.S.

The drop that we have seen so far in international registrations is dramatic and will not only take away from the conference program, but will put the very future of HOPE in jeopardy. But we absolutely will not encourage people to put their safety at risk just to attend a conference, much as we want to welcome you to ours. This is uncharted territory for us and we honestly don't know what to expect. We do know that certain people are being held to extra scrutiny due to their backgrounds, history, and opinions - and that there's very little anyone here can do to help travelers who are being detained.

A number of conferences have opted to postpone their events indefinitely. We don't intend to be intimidated, and there are so many people committed to giving some great presentations, not to mention those from the States who really want to attend. HOPE will go on, and it will be a terrific conference, despite all of this adversity.

We do need your help, however. The apprehension has seriously hurt our preregistration numbers, which are around half of what they were last year. We won't be able to continue holding conferences if that doesn't improve. There's no doubt that would make a lot of the people in power very happy, so we hope you can help ensure it doesn't happen. A few hundred ticket sales will make all the difference. And for those who want to support us but can't be here, getting virtual tickets allows you to attend from afar and help keep HOPE alive.

We've been through hell before. In 2019, we lost our hotel and were forced to find a new home in New York City. Then we had to make it through COVID. And now we have this challenge. With your support and spirit, we'll make it through this crisis and help ensure that the roads ahead are bright. As always, thank you for your support.