German teen backpackers deported from Hawaii over hotel mix-up

What was meant to be a sun-soaked five-week stopover in Hawaii turned into a harrowing ordeal for two German teenagers, who were arrested, detained, and ultimately deported—because they didn’t have a hotel booking.

Charlotte Pohl, 19, and Maria Lepere, 18, had been traveling the world with backpacks and wide-eyed dreams when they landed in Honolulu from New Zealand earlier this month. But U.S. immigration officials flagged them at the airport, accusing the young women of intending to work illegally, despite their valid travel authorizations.

Instead of a warm welcome to paradise, they were handcuffed, strip-searched, and forced into prison jumpsuits at a local detention center they later learned was a deportation facility. The pair were reportedly locked in a freezing double cell alongside serious offenders, including a man accused of murder.

“It was like a fever dream,” Maria told Germany’s Ostsee Zeitung. “We felt powerless. We were so naive to think it couldn’t happen to us just because we’re from Germany.”

The girls had been traveling under the ESTA program, a visa waiver that allows short visits for citizens of select countries, including Germany. They say immigration officers doubted their intentions when they couldn’t show a hotel reservation for their stay. According to the teens, agents interpreted this as evidence they were planning to work in the U.S. illegally.

By the next morning, still in handcuffs, they were escorted onto a flight to Tokyo. Their passports were only returned after they landed. Among their returned documents were transcripts of their interrogation, which the teens say included false admissions. “They twisted our words to make it sound like we admitted we came to work,” Charlotte said.

From Tokyo, they flew home via Qatar, their trip prematurely and traumatically cut short.

While both Charlotte and Maria say they’re recovering emotionally from the experience, the bitterness remains. “Sometimes I catch myself imagining what those five weeks in Hawaii could have been,” Charlotte said. “It’s sad that our journey ended this way.”

The U.S. ESTA program, while simplifying entry for millions of travelers, does not guarantee access. Final decisions lie with immigration officers at the border, something travelers are increasingly discovering the hard way.

The incident has sparked concern among European travel circles and raised questions about how immigration protocols are being enforced. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has not commented publicly on the case.

*Source: Daily Beast