Donald Trump's travel ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim countries and stepped-up deportations of undocumented immigrants have "turbo charged" immigration authorities to abuse just about anyone trying to enter the country:  So says Aussie children's author Mem Fox, who got caught in the most ridiculous bureaucratic trap earlier this month.

The 70-year old author of "Possum Magic" and "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes" has traveled to and from the US 116 times in the past.  But most recently, she was detained and questioned in some odd, semi-public tribunal for two hours, as she tried to make her way to a conference in Milwaukee. 

"I have never in my life been spoken to with such insolence, treated with such disdain, with so many insults and with so much gratuitous impoliteness," Ms. Fox said.  "They accused me of coming in on the wrong visa and they were totally wrong about that.  The person who interviewed me was heavy with weaponry, was totally dressed in black with the word 'police' in hand-sized letters across his chest."

There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the way visitors were being treated, with the only constantly being the immigration officials having had their leashes taken off to go on unchecked power trips.  Iranians, Taiwanese, and a Scandinavian parent with a small child shared the holding room with Fox, and she says they were all treated equally poorly.

"I thought: 'How can human beings treat other vulnerable human beings in this fashion, in public, in full view of everybody?'"

She wrote a strong letter of protest to the US Embassy in Canberra and questions whether she'll bother to travel to the US ever again.  But she's also concerned that Trump-style toxic xenophobia could take root in Australia.

"I'm very frightened that Australia will go the same way as America, with extremists in power, racist hatred, ghastly speech against decent people," she said.  "I have written a new book which is about, ironically, welcoming strangers to a strange land - Australia - and I wrote it because I perceived that Australia was losing its gorgeous warmth of character in our attitude to newcomers.  The irony is that this happened to me at about the same time as I was about to publish this 'welcome to Australia' book."

The Trump-inspired stupidity at US airports isn't just reserved for little old ladies who write children's books.  US citizens are being detained and abused.

The first wife and son of boxing legend Muhammad Ali were pulled out of line at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as they tried to come home to Florida from Jamaica - they were profiled because of their Islamic names.  Khalilah Camacho-Ali pulled out a photo of herself with the Champ, and was let through.  44-year old Muhammad Ali, Jr. didn't have a photo showing him with his dad, and was detained for interrogation for two hours.

Family lawyer Chris Mancini said officials held and questioned Ali Jr. for nearly two hours, repeatedly asking him, "Where did you get your name from?" and "Are you Muslim?"  Yes, he is a Muslim.  He's also a natural-born US citizen from Philadelphia with a valid passport.

"To the Ali family, it's crystal clear that this is directly linked to Mr. Trump's efforts to ban Muslims from the United States," Mr. Mancini said, referring to Trump's travel ban, which has been put on hold by several Federal Courts because of its unconstitutionality.  "Imagine walking into an airport and being asked about your religion," Mancini said, acknowledging that a lawsuit may be on the way.  "This is classic customs profiling."