Ivana Bacik holds up meme of bald baby JD Vance in the Dáil
A MEME OF US Vice President JD Vance depicted as a baby was held up in the Dáil today by Labour leader Ivana Bacik.
Bacik used the prop to illustrate her frustration at the United States' recent clampdown on international visas, including the popular J1 visa used by Irish students.
Earlier this week, the US
announced
that future applicants looking to visit the country will be required to divulge 'all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last five years' on their visa application form.
They are also required to set their social media profiles to public.
Bacik told the Dáil today that this is a 'major incursion on the freedom of expression'.
'Each year, thousands of young Irish people work in the US on J1 visas. I've done it myself, I had a very happy summer in Boston many years ago. And generally it's a very positive experience.
'But things have changed drastically under US President Trump with the recent authoritarian announcement that students would have to hand over social media accounts.
'We're watching a major incursion on the freedom of expression, unthinkable in an electoral democracy.
'This week, a young Norwegian tourist detained by ICE at the airport was sent back to Oslo. Why? He had this meme on his phone minister,' Bacik said as she held up a sheet of paper.
Bacik described the meme as amusing.
'A meme depicting Vice President JD Vance as a baby. I mean, extraordinary. Extraordinary that a young person with this amusing meme on their phone, depicting a public person, that this would be used as an excuse to detain him for five hours and then deport him back to Oslo.'
Advertisement
Bacik said she welcomed Tánaiste Simon Harris's
promise this week to raise the J1 visa issue with the US Ambassador to Ireland
, but asked what Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan (who has responsibility for issuing visas in Ireland) will do to reassure young people travelling to the United States.
In response, O'Callaghan said there is 'very little' he can do about the US immigration system.
'Like I'm trying to put rules on the Irish immigration system, I can't control the US immigration system,' he said.
O'Callaghan looked somewhat dejected while he listened to the Labour leader.
O'Callaghan added that he thinks the new rules imposed by the US are 'regrettable' and he welcomed the criticism of the decision by both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste.
Norweigan tourist
The Norwegian tourist Bacik referred to claimed he was denied entry to the US because of the meme of Vance on his phone.
The story was first reported by Norwegian newspaper Nordlys on Monday, and then picked up by the Daily Mail on Tuesday.
The tourist, Mads Mikkelsen, claimed he was threatened with a $5,000 fine or five years in prison if he refused to provide the password to his mobile device, which he did.
Mikkelsen claimed he was sent home to Norway after authorities discovered the Vance meme on his phone.
However, the US Customs and Border Protection has since stated that the tourist was denied entry because of his 'admitted drug use'.
In a post on X, the organisation said it was not for any memes or political reasons.
Fact Check: FALSE
Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use.
pic.twitter.com/is9eGqILUq
— CBP (@CBP)
June 24, 2025
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Irish fishermen are being treated like second class citizens - it has to stop'
Irish fishermen are being treated like dirt by the EU - and it has to stop. While our farmers have always been looked after financially by the powers that be in Brussels, our brave fishermen are consistently getting a raw deal and from what I can see are regarded as second class citizens. Ireland owes 12pc of all EU waters yet our men and women trying to make a living from the sea are only given 6pc of Europe's fishing quotas. This is a shocking state of affairs, a national disgrace and successive Irish Governments plus the top officials in the Department of the Marine, are to blame. They have sat ideally by for decades and let our fishing fleet be decimated by the EU mandarins. They failed dismally at the negotiation table to secure a good deal for the Irish fishing industry and then became the best in class, harassing our fleet in terms of ensuring that Irish fishers don't breach the lowly fishing quotas they were awarded. In other words don't catch more than you are allowed. It has led to strained relations between the Dept of the Marine and the trawlermen trying to make a living from the scraps they are allowed to fish. Brexit and the loss of the UK fishing waters made matters worse .Brussels then insisted we give up 40pc of our quotes to other countries to make up for the loss. The initial Trade and Co-operation Agreement over Brexit is now going to be extended for 12 years and will cost Irish fishers a staggering 800 million between now and 2038, the Irish Fish Producers Organisation says. The Irish mackerel fleet alone has lost 26pc of its quota while the Dublin Bay Prawns fleet has lost 15pc. The Government's solution to the issue is not to go to Brussels and declare war - but decommission the fishing fleet and wave the chequebook at fishermen and women to leave the industry. I live very close to a beautiful fishing village, Clogherhead in County Louth. The fishing industry there dates back hundreds of years and has been passed from generation to generation. Most of the boats fish for prawns and squid. In the last few years the village lost four boats from the fleet due to decommissioning. Their prawn quota has been reduced by 30 to 40pc in the last five years and they are struggling to survive. They used to make up the difference financially by fishing for squid around the Rockall fishery in the Atlantic but now the British Navy are policing the area and will not let Irish fishermen within 12 miles of the famous rock even though they have fished there for years. Britain claims both the rock and the fishing waters are part of their territory which the Irish Government refutes. But if you think things are bad there, fast forward down to the Celtic Sea as it is called off the coast of Wexford and Waterford. Earlier in June our fishing crews had to stop fishing for sole in these waters but Europe had only given them 5pc of the quota. But Belgian trawlers can fish away in our waters because Brussels gave them 87pc of the sole quota in that area. Ireland has a coastline of 3100 km while Belgium has a coastline of 67km. Just think about this, the Belgium fleet holds 59pc of the total EU fish quota for the Celtic Sea while we have just 20pc. The Irish Fish Producers Organisation is rightly furious at what is happening and Ireland deserves much better than the pathetic quotas we are being given. The Government seems to be slowly waking up to this scandal and has appointed a Minister for Fisheries and the Marine, for the first time in years. It may only be a Junior post but it is a start. The new Minister Timmy Dooley from County Clare has a big job on his hands to save the fishing industry but the Government must stop sacrificing the fishermen so they can get better EU deals for Irish farmers , something they have been doing for decades. The whole fishing and seafood industry is worth 1.2 billion to the Irish economy with almost 18,000 full and part time jobs. It is about time we started taking it seriously.
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Millions spent on deportation flights over last four years
The Government has spent €3.1m on flights deporting failed asylum seekers over the last four years. This includes over €1m so far in 2025 alone on both chartered and commercial flights. Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan confirmed to Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly that 420 people were deported or removed from the country on commercial flights between 2021 and June 20 2025. Chartered flights, meanwhile, started this year and have seen 106 people removed from the State. Deputy Farrelly asked the Justice Minister to provide him with details on the amount of money spent on commercial and charter flights used to deport people from the jurisdiction from 2000 to date in 2025. However, Mr O'Callaghan stated that providing 25 years of data would "require a disproportionate amount of time to compile." He stated: "So far in 2025, three charter flight operations have removed 106 people who were subject to deportation orders from the State, with a further 59 removed on commercial airlines. "Further charter operations and removals on commercial aircraft will be conducted as the year progresses." In February, €102,476 was spent on a one-way flight to Georgia, followed by €103,751 for another one-way flight to Georgia in May. In May, a return deportation flight to Nigeria cost €324,714. He added that "costs for the provision of supporting charter flight services such as ground handling services, on board paramedics and a flight manager have been €46,352 so far in 2025". In addition to this, some €530,941 has been spent on commercial flights so far this year. This brings the total amount spent in 2025 to €1.1m. Only commercial flights were used to deport people before this year. In 2021, some €428,131 was spent on commercial flights, rising to €467,289 and €494,829 in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The cost of these flights jumped to €1.2m last year. In total, €3.1m has been spent on both commercial and charter deportation flights since 2021. However, Minister O'Callaghan added: "From 2016 up to the end of 2023, my Department was able to reclaim some costs of commercial flights under the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund. "A new fund opened in 2024 and my Department continues to reclaim funding for commercial flight costs under this EU Fund (for deportation costs only)." Deputy Farrelly told the Irish Mirror that while Ireland needs a working asylum process, it also needs to be fair and just. He said: "We have seen this policy shift [regarding deportation flights] and the fear that has kind of taken over communities is real. "The anecdotal rhetoric that we hear is because of the financial burden that these people can have on the State. "Actually, now what we're seeing is Government putting millions into flights for people who are working, people who are contributing to the state, working very important jobs in our society, all to pacify a very, very small group of people who are criticising it."
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Taoiseach to meet prime minister and lay wreath at Hiroshima on four-day visit to Japan
The Taoiseach is today kicking off a four-day trip to Japan where he will try to strengthen trade and cultural links between the country and Ireland. Micheál Martin is due to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo on Wednesday. He will also attend meetings with businesses linked with the IDA and Bord Bia on Tuesday. Mr Martin previously visited Japan as Taoiseach in 2022, meeting with former Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and turning the sod on Ireland House Tokyo. He will officially open the building on Wednesday, with the site playing host to Ireland's embassy in Japan, as well as agencies like the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia. On Thursday, Mr Martin will travel from Tokyo to Osaka, where he is due to attend Expo 2025, where Ireland has a pavilion showcasing Irish culture. For the final day of the visit, the Taoiseach will visit Hiroshima where he is due to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph to mark 80 years since the atomic bombing of the city. Speaking ahead of his visit, Mr Martin said Japan is an 'important strategic partner' amidst the increasingly turbulent geopolitical environment. 'Ireland and Japan are very like-minded on the major issues facing the world and I look forward to exchanging views with Prime Minister Ishiba and discussing how to strengthen the ties between our two countries,' Mr Martin said. 'I am looking forward to opening the new Ireland House Tokyo, a significant milestone in Ireland's relationship with Japan, and to visiting the Irish pavilion at Expo which is showcasing Ireland's creativity and culture. 'I am also honoured to visit Hiroshima to remember all those who died as a result of the atomic bombing 80 years ago. The memorial at Hiroshima is a stark reminder to us all of the devastation wrought by nuclear war and the importance of peace and stability across the world.'
