Canada Border Services Agency won’t comment on a Chicago college journalist who was detained and deported when he arrived Saturday at Vancouver International Airport.
Martin Macias Jr., 20, said he was planning to attend an Olympic Resistance Network conference critical of the 2010 Winter Olympics until Feb. 11. Agents held him for more than two hours, he was quizzed by RCMP officers about the conference and put on a flight to Seattle.
CBSA’s Faith St. John said it’s policy to not discuss individual cases. She said the reasons for denying access include involvement in criminal activity, human rights violations, organized crime and for security, health or financial reasons.
Macias was part of the No Games Chicago group that opposed the Windy City’s failed 2016 Olympic bid. He said he does not have a criminal record and has never before been denied entry to Canada.
“I’m concerned about the state of things in Vancouver,” Macias said from a hotel in Seattle.
In November, radio host Amy Goodman was detained at the border. She said Canadian agents repeatedly asked if her speaking engagement at the Vancouver Public Library would include discussion on the Games. She said she didn’t know Vancouver was a host city.
