You made the right choice, I didn't mean to sound critical of you, more the situation.

Its sad but people taking these other measures are rolling dice every time they go. Negotiating the leopard.

my biggest worry entering and leaving my own country is that my bag was lost, or theres a queue.

I used to travel to the US once a month for years and years (from Europe or Asia). It was either for business, or for vacation with the family. The larger the airport, the shittier the border but at least this was a moment to go through and that's all.

Now, as a French, I seriously consider being detained for something trivial and getting into a net of bureaucracy which would certainly extend my stay in the US. And I will not do that.

My grown-up children are suggesting vacation in New York and some other places, we will go to Asia instead where I was lucky enough to have only good experiences (especially in some countries). Nobody will care in the US but this is one less person to visit.

I would love the Americans to continue visiting us as nothing changed for them but I can totally understand that they will slow down as well, expecting unpleasantries.