Now that the dust has settled on the selection of the 2016 Olympics, some of the delegates are providing some insight on why the Chicago bid failed. According to this article, a Pakistani IOC member said that one of the reasons Chicago lost out was that entering the United States could be:
“a rather harrowing experience.”
President Obama was quick to point out that as President, things will change:
“One of the legacies I want to see is a reminder that America at its best is open to the world.”
Even the President of the US Travel association took the feedback seriously:
“When IOC members are commenting to our President that foreign visitors find traveling to the United States a ‘pretty harrowing experience,’ we need to take seriously the challenge of reforming our entry process to ensure there is a welcome mat to our friends around the world, even as we ensure a secure system.”
I’ve traveled to a few countries and have had the opportunity to experience how non residents are treated by their entry port agents. I’ve also watched how our entry agents treat non residents entering the US. I’m hard pressed to say that in comparison to other countries, entering the US is difficult. Based on my observations, describing the US entry process as “harrowing” could only be done by someone who felt that a hangnail was a “harrowing” medical malady.
The only people who would generally find entrance to the US as “harrowing” are those who are attempting to do so illegally. The irony is that Chicago is a sanctuary city and doesn’t care what the legal or illegal status of some one’s entry to the US was so even that shouldn’t have been an issue. Maybe, in all the focus on themselves, the Obama’s forgot to mention that as a selling point to the IOC?
