I hope she has a very nice "bachelorette party" in Miami in May.
Here is the rest of the article.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection could not immediately be reached for comment.
Kooner's story is the latest in a string of recent tales involving Canadian travellers scrutinized or turned away by U.S. border agents.
Last month, for instance, a woman from the Montreal suburb of Brossard said she was denied entry after being fingerprinted, photographed and questioned in detail about her religion and her views on Trump.
Kooner was reluctant to attribute her situation to racism, but said friends who have reached out to her say that could be the case.
"People have said we need to take that into account here, because unfortunately, yeah, my skin colour is brown," she said.
Told she needed an immigrant visa
Kooner said this summer, her mother was turned away at the border as well, but wasn't told why. Kooner said she was told her mother's issues wouldn't impact her.
She first had trouble getting into the U.S. last December, before Trump took office. She was with friends and her fiancé when her car was pulled over for what she was told was a random check, she said.
She was made to fill out a number of forms, but was eventually told there was a problem with the computer system and they should return the next morning.
When they went back, she was let through without any problems.
Manpreet Kooner form
The form explaining why Kooner was denied entry to the U.S. says she was turned away because she is an immigrant who did not have a valid immigrant visa. (Submitted by Manpreet Kooner)
She said that when she tried to cross Sunday, at Highgate Springs, Vt., an agent checked her passport and said they needed to ask her additional questions.
The agent mentioned that she had been stopped in December and asked why she was trying to go through again, Kooner said.
She said she told them she's a Canadian citizen, has no criminal record and, before December, never had any issues crossing the border.
She also said she was fingerprinted and photographed, and signed a form to withdraw her application for entry to the United States.
Though she was told there are no flags on her file, a border agent advised her not to fly to the U.S. without a visa, Kooner said.
The reference to Trump came as the agent was explaining the reasons why she was refused entry, she said.
Manpreet Kooner trip
In December, Kooner and her fiancé took a trip to upstate New York to visit a winery. On their way there, she says, she was questioned at the border, but was later allowed to cross without issue. (Submitted by Manpreet Kooner)
The border agent couldn't say what kind of visa she would need, only that she would have to visit the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa to get one.
Kooner said that's when she started to cry.
Visas generally not needed for Canadian travellers
CBC News spoke to Kooner's friend Alexandra Adam, who was one of the two women on the trip with her.
Adam caught the end of the conversation between Kooner and the border agent and confirmed Kooner was told she likely wouldn't be allowed into the U.S. without a visa.
Adam said she was not present when the agent allegedly made the Trump comment.
A U.S. Embassy official said most travellers from Canada and Bermuda generally do not need visas for tourism and visits.
Canadians who are intending to immigrate or those planning to marry a U.S. citizen are among those who do need visas. Kooner does not fall under either category.
U.S. immigration lawyer Leslie Holman said it doesn't appear that there's a reason Kooner would need a visa to get into the country.
"Even if someone has a visa, the ultimate decision as to whether they can enter the United States rests when you seek admissibility, at the time of entry," she said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs told CBC News the common category of visa that is used for short term, non-immigrant travel to the United States – including tourism and business – is the B1/B2 visa.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an average of 1.2 million people a day try to enter the U.S. at all crossings. Of those, an average of between 300 and 500 are denied entry for various reasons.
Kooner has spent more than $1,000 on tickets to attend a musical festival in Miami at the end of the month, and planned to return to that city in May for her bachelorette party.
She said she is now thinking about selling those tickets and cancelling the party. She said the thought of having to cross the border now makes her feel sick.
She said she feels like the border agents singled her out and didn't ask to speak to her friends.
"I feel targeted. I'm set aside from everyone else, and I feel helpless because I keep asking, 'What do I need to do?'"
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