German Citizens with Tourist Visas Detained for Weeks

Two German citizens who tried to enter the USA from Mexico with their tourist visas have been in detention for weeks.

Jessica Brosche was detained 25 January 2025. She presented her passport, Electronic System for Travel Authorization and airline ticket to return to Berlin on 15 February. She was then detained on the grounds that Customs and Border Protection did not believe she was a tourist and thought she intended to work.

Brosche was traveling with her friend Nikita Lofving, a USA citizen. Brosche is a tattoo artist. Lofving’s art is in fashion. When they meet, they practice their respective arts for each other.

For the first nine days of her detention, Brosche was kept in solitary confinement at Otay Mesa Detention Center in Arizona.

Lucas Sielaff was detained separately 14 February 2025. He was traveling with his fiancée Dr. Lennon Tyler, a USA citizen. They took her dog across the border to Mexico for cancer treatment. He was detained when they tried to return. English is not Sielaff’s first language, which may have aggravated the situation.

When officers took him inside for further inspection, they searched the car and chained Tyler to a bench.

Tyler said, “Every time I tried to ask a question, they said, ‘No one’s going to answer your questions. You need to be quiet.’” Eventually they sought her signature on paperwork. She refused. They made her leave.

“They told me if I didn’t leave, I would be arrested and that my dog would be thrown in a cage and my car would be impounded. Make your choice is what they said.”

Both Germans remain in custody with no indication of when they might be released.

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