Offside: Taking sides

And there, as they say, is the rub. In 2006, Smolders came on a trip to his native land to see where he was from. Trip over, he returned to the US. But he was held up at the border. When he had entered as a child, it was on a holiday visa, which was now long expired. Under US law, if you have ever overstayed your visa, you are not allowed to re-enter the country.

That was six years ago, and Smolders is understandably angry. He’s even tried to enter the US illegally. He flew to Windsor in Ontario, Canada, which looks out across the mighty Detroit River (pictured) to the United States. His laptop and other belongings in a waterproof bag, he entered the murky waters at around midnight. “It was harder than I thought,” he said. After 40 minutes, he stopped swimming and drifted.

Then he spotted a pleasure boat and climbed aboard. “All I could do was lie on the deck. My muscles had turned to jelly.” The only other person on board, a janitor, eventually found him and called border patrol.

Smolders spent five weeks in jail, and now he’s back in Belgium. He’s trying to arrange the necessary documents to go back home. “But if that doesn’t work … I'll try to cross the border again. I absolutely want to celebrate Christmas in the US. I have to. My life has been taken from me.”