Politics
REUTERS/Aaron Harris
Ford reportedly headed to Chicago, where his family has a home and business, after making a sudden announcement late last month that he would take leave from his job and campaign to "get help" for his "issues." However, on Tuesday, the Globe & Mail reported Roy Norton, the Canadian consul general in Chicago, told them Ford didn't make it into America.
"He voluntarily withdrew his application to enter the USA," said Norton, who added Ford "was not denied entry, per se."
Norton did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider Tuesday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Jaime Ruiz would not confirm Norton's claim. Ruiz provided a statement that said, "We are not at liberty to discuss an individual's processing due to the Privacy Act."
However, Ruiz also pointed out there are "60 grounds of inadmissibility" for entry into the U.S. that are "divided into several major categories, including health-related grounds, criminality, security reasons, public charge, labor certification, illegal entrants and immigration violations, documentation requirements, and miscellaneous grounds." One of the grounds for inadmissibility is admitted drug use. In November, Ford confessed to smoking crack cocaine "in one of my drunken stupors." For was arrested in Miami, Fla. in 1999 and charged with drunk driving and marijuana possession.
Neither Ford's lawyer, his chief of staff, of his brother, Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford, responded to requests for comment from Business Insider Tuesday. At Toronto City Hall Tuesday, Doug Ford reportedly declined to comment on whether his brother was turned away from the U.S. other than to say Rob Ford is in rehab in an unspecified location.
Mayor Ford, who is still running for re-election, could be removed from office if he fails to show up for a monthly meeting with the Toronto City Council in July.