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First Post
13 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
Did US kick out a tourist over JD Vance meme?
A Norwegian traveller has claimed he was denied entry into the United States after immigration agents found a meme of Vice President JD Vance on his phone. As his accusations went viral, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) cleared the air, saying the 21-year-old was not thrown out for 'political reasons' read more A tourist claimed he was not allowed to enter the US over a meme on Vice President JD Vance. File Photo/Reuters Is the United States denying entry to foreigners due to political memes? The bizarre question arose after a Norwegian traveller claimed he was stopped from entering America as immigration agents took objection to a doctored photo of a bald US Vice President JD Vance on his phone. The claims were soon picked up by the media and blew up. As the story grabbed eyeballs around the world, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a clarification. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Let's take a closer look. Was tourist not allowed into US over Vance meme? A Norwegian tourist claimed he was denied entry into the US after authorities found a meme of JD Vance on his phone at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport on June 11. His accusation was first reported by Norwegian news outlet Nordlys. Mads Mikkelsen, 21, told the local newspaper upon his return that the US officials had threatened to fine him $5,000 (Rs 4.27 lakh) or imprison him for five years if he refused to provide them with his phone password. The Norwegian tourist complied with their demand and unlocked his phone, allowing agents to go through the phone. He said that was when they spotted the Vance meme. Mikkelsen told BBC, 'The agent seemed to be very antagonised by the image. He asked me why I had it saved on my phone.' The young man said he explained to them that it was only a meme, but the agent, he said, replied: 'It's very clearly a piece of dangerous extremist propaganda'. Mikkelsen said he was denied entry into the US after the CBP agents looked into his phone and sent him back to Norway. US rejects tourist's claim As the Norwegian traveller's claims drew global attention, the US Customs and Border Patrol and its umbrella Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have jumped in to address the reports. Issuing a 'fact check' on X, the CBP wrote: 'Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use.' Fact Check: FALSE Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use. — CBP (@CBP) June 24, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Homeland Security deputy secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the story 'false' and 'BS' in a post on X. She also insisted that Mikkelsen was not allowed entry into the US after he admitted to using drugs. In a post on Facebook, Homeland Security said, 'FACT CHECK. Claims that Mads Mikkelsen was denied entry because of a meme are unequivocally FALSE.' 'TRUTH: Mikkelsen was refused entry into the US for his admitted drug use. Only those who respect our laws and follow our rules will be welcomed into our country.' 'Political reasons' were not to blame either, CBP claimed on X. Mikkelsen has admitted that the US agents came across a second photo of a wooden weed pipe. He told Nordlys that when questioned, he told them that he had tried marijuana once in Germany and once in New Mexico. He said he did not believe that was relevant, as the drug was legal in both places. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Mikkelsen, not to be confused with Danish actor of the same name, said he was also questioned about drug smuggling, terror plots, and right-wing extremism, as per the Independent report. The Norwegian youth claimed that the agents forced him to provide a blood sample. The episode has left a bad taste in his mouth. Mikkelsen said, 'I would not return while the current government is in power.' Can US agents check phones at borders? Border officers in the US are authorised to look into phones, laptops and other electronic devices at ports of entry. 'These searches have been used to identify and combat terrorist activity, child pornography, drug smuggling, human smuggling, bulk cash smuggling, human trafficking, export control violations, intellectual property rights violations and visa fraud, among other violations,' the CBP says on its website. 'Furthermore, border searches of electronic devices are often integral to determining an individual's intentions upon entry to the United States and thus provide additional information relevant to admissibility of foreign nationals under US immigration laws.' ALSO READ: How US Supreme Court's ruling that curbs judges' power benefits Trump STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump tightens immigration laws Foreign individuals and immigrants have been increasingly targeted under the Trump administration, which has cracked down on immigration and national security. In March, a French researcher was denied entry after customs agents found a 'personal opinion on the Trump administration's research policy' on his phone. Last week, an Australian writer said he was deported to Melbourne over his reporting on the Columbia University protests. The DHS announced in April that its agents would start screening the social media accounts of immigrants for so-called 'antisemitic activity'. Those seeking US student visas have also been told to change the privacy settings on their social media profiles to 'public.' The US State Department recently asked diplomats to review social media profiles for 'any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States.' With inputs from agencies
NDTV
15 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Dangerous Extremist Propaganda": How A Bald JD Vance Meme Got Tourist Banned From US
A 21-year-old Norwegian tourist called Mads Mikkelsen was detained by the US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) at Newark Airport for five hours. Mikkelson claims it was because of a doctored photo of US Vice President JD Vance. After he returned to Norway, Mikkelsen spoke to a local newspaper Nordlys and stated that the USCBP agents threatened to slap a $5,000 fine on him if he did not unlock his phone and let them scroll through the photos. In his photo gallery, the agents discovered a photoshopped picture of JD Vance with a bald, egg-shaped head on his phone. Mikkelsen told the BBC, "The agent seemed to be very antagonised by the image. He asked me why I had it saved on my phone." He went on to explain to the agent that it was just a meme, a piece of comedy. The agent responded by saying, "It's very clearly a piece of dangerous extremist propaganda". However, he also said that he told agents about legally consuming cannabis in Germany and New Mexico, in places where it was legal to do so, after they extensively questioned him about drug smuggling, terrorism and extremism. He was also taken to a guarded room and asked to surrender his shoes, phone and backpack. US law does state that an individual can be turned away for drug use even if they have not been convicted of a crime. Later, USCBP clarified in a post on X that Mikkelsen was denied entry because of his admitted drug use. "Fact Check: FALSE," they posted, "Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use." The Department of Homeland Security has also publicly denied that Mikkelsen was denied entry because of the meme. Mikkelsen said that the entire episode had been traumatic because of strip-searches, luggage ransacking, fingerprinting, blood sampling and falsified travel records. His Norwegian passport had also been mistakenly labelled as "Spanish". The paperwork he was given by US immigration officials, mentions another reason for his removal. Officials thought he may be attempting to seek unauthorised employment in the US. Mikkelsen said, "I would not return while the current government is in power." US Customs and Border Protection say that about one million individuals enter the United States every day, and of those people, only less than 0.01 per cent of travellers have their devices searched.
India Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
US signs controversial asylum deals with Guatemala, Honduras
Guatemala and Honduras have signed agreements with the United States to potentially offer refuge to people from other countries who otherwise would seek asylum in the United States, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday at the conclusion of her Central America agreements expand the Trump administration's efforts to provide the US government flexibility in returning migrants not only to their own countries, but also to third countries as it attempts to ramp up described it as a way to offer asylum-seekers options other than coming to the United States. She said the agreements had been in the works for months. with the US government applying pressure on Honduras and Guatemala to get them done. 'Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well,' Noem said. 'We've never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn't necessarily have to be the United States.'Both governments denied having signed third safe country agreements when asked following Noem's presidential communications office said the government did not sign a safe third country agreement nor any immigration related agreement during Noem's reaffirmed that Guatemala would receive Central Americans sent by the United States as a temporary stop on the return to their had said Thursday that 'politically, this is a difficult agreement for their governments to do.' Both countries have limited resources and many needs making support for asylum seekers from other countries a tougher sell domestically. There are also the optics of two left-of-center governments appearing to help the Trump administration limit access to US said that during her Guatemala meeting, she was given the already signed agreement. While later there was a public signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding that establishes a Joint Security Program that will put US Customs and Border Protection officers in the Guatemalan capital's international airport to help train local agents to screen for terrorist immigration director Wilson Paz denied such an agreement was signed and its Foreign Affairs Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. During US President Donald Trump's first term, the U.S. signed such accords called safe-third country agreements with Honduras, El Salvador and effectively allowed the U.S. to declare some asylum seekers ineligible to apply for U.S. protection and permitted the US government to send them to those countries deemed 'safe.' The US has had such an agreement with Canada since practical challenge was that all three Central American countries at the time were seeing large numbers of their own citizens head to the US to escape violence and a lack of economic opportunity. They also had extremely under-resourced asylum February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed deals with El Salvador and Guatemala that allowed the US to send migrants from other nations there. But in Guatemala's case it was to only be a point of transit for migrants who would then return to their homelands, not to apply for asylum there. And in El Salvador, it was broader, allowing the US to send migrants to be imprisoned President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that Mexico would not sign a third safe country agreement, but at the same time Mexico has accepted more than 5,000 migrants from other countries deported from the US since Trump took office. She said Mexico accepted them for humanitarian reasons and helped them return to their home US also has agreements with Panama and Costa Rica to take migrants from other countries though so far the numbers sent have been relatively small. The Trump administration sent 299 to Panama in February and fewer than 200 to Costa agreements give US authorities options, especially for migrants from countries where it is not easy for the U.S. to return them directly.- EndsTune InMust Watch
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Guatemala, Honduras deny asylum-seeker deal with US
The Trump administration says Guatemala and Honduras have signed agreements to potentially offer refuge to people seeking asylum in the US - but the two countries are denying any deal. The agreements were announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as the US administration seeks flexibility in returning migrants not only to their own countries, but also to third countries as it attempts to ramp up deportations. Noem described it as a way to offer asylum-seekers options other than coming to the United States. She said the agreements had been in the works for months. with the US government applying pressure on Honduras and Guatemala to get them done. "Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well," Noem said. "We've never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn't necessarily have to be the United States." Both governments denied having signed safe third-country agreements when asked following Noem's comments. Guatemala's presidential communications office reaffirmed that Guatemala would receive Central Americans sent by the United States as a temporary stop on the return to their countries. Noem said Thursday that "politically, this is a difficult agreement for their governments to do." Both countries have limited resources and many needs making support for asylum-seekers from other countries a tougher sell domestically. There are also the optics of two left-of-centre governments appearing to help the Trump administration limit access to US asylum. Noem said she was given the already signed agreement, during her meeting in Guatemala. Later there was a public signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding that will put US Customs and Border Protection officers in the Guatemalan capital's international airport to help train local agents to screen for terrorist suspects. Honduras' immigration director Wilson Paz also denied such an agreement was signed. During US President Donald Trump's first term, the US signed such accords called safe third-country agreements with Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. They effectively allowed the US to declare some asylum seekers ineligible to apply for US protection and permitted the US government to send them to those countries deemed "safe." The US has had such an agreement with Canada since 2002. The practical challenge was that all three Central American countries at the time were seeing large numbers of their own citizens head to the US to escape violence and a lack of economic opportunity. They also had extremely under-resourced asylum systems. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that Mexico would not sign a safe third-country agreement, but at the same time Mexico has accepted more than 5,000 migrants from other countries deported from the US since Trump took office. She said Mexico accepted them for humanitarian reasons and helped them return to their home countries. The Trump administration says Guatemala and Honduras have signed agreements to potentially offer refuge to people seeking asylum in the US - but the two countries are denying any deal. The agreements were announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as the US administration seeks flexibility in returning migrants not only to their own countries, but also to third countries as it attempts to ramp up deportations. Noem described it as a way to offer asylum-seekers options other than coming to the United States. She said the agreements had been in the works for months. with the US government applying pressure on Honduras and Guatemala to get them done. "Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well," Noem said. "We've never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn't necessarily have to be the United States." Both governments denied having signed safe third-country agreements when asked following Noem's comments. Guatemala's presidential communications office reaffirmed that Guatemala would receive Central Americans sent by the United States as a temporary stop on the return to their countries. Noem said Thursday that "politically, this is a difficult agreement for their governments to do." Both countries have limited resources and many needs making support for asylum-seekers from other countries a tougher sell domestically. There are also the optics of two left-of-centre governments appearing to help the Trump administration limit access to US asylum. Noem said she was given the already signed agreement, during her meeting in Guatemala. Later there was a public signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding that will put US Customs and Border Protection officers in the Guatemalan capital's international airport to help train local agents to screen for terrorist suspects. Honduras' immigration director Wilson Paz also denied such an agreement was signed. During US President Donald Trump's first term, the US signed such accords called safe third-country agreements with Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. They effectively allowed the US to declare some asylum seekers ineligible to apply for US protection and permitted the US government to send them to those countries deemed "safe." The US has had such an agreement with Canada since 2002. The practical challenge was that all three Central American countries at the time were seeing large numbers of their own citizens head to the US to escape violence and a lack of economic opportunity. They also had extremely under-resourced asylum systems. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that Mexico would not sign a safe third-country agreement, but at the same time Mexico has accepted more than 5,000 migrants from other countries deported from the US since Trump took office. She said Mexico accepted them for humanitarian reasons and helped them return to their home countries. The Trump administration says Guatemala and Honduras have signed agreements to potentially offer refuge to people seeking asylum in the US - but the two countries are denying any deal. The agreements were announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as the US administration seeks flexibility in returning migrants not only to their own countries, but also to third countries as it attempts to ramp up deportations. Noem described it as a way to offer asylum-seekers options other than coming to the United States. She said the agreements had been in the works for months. with the US government applying pressure on Honduras and Guatemala to get them done. "Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well," Noem said. "We've never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn't necessarily have to be the United States." Both governments denied having signed safe third-country agreements when asked following Noem's comments. Guatemala's presidential communications office reaffirmed that Guatemala would receive Central Americans sent by the United States as a temporary stop on the return to their countries. Noem said Thursday that "politically, this is a difficult agreement for their governments to do." Both countries have limited resources and many needs making support for asylum-seekers from other countries a tougher sell domestically. There are also the optics of two left-of-centre governments appearing to help the Trump administration limit access to US asylum. Noem said she was given the already signed agreement, during her meeting in Guatemala. Later there was a public signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding that will put US Customs and Border Protection officers in the Guatemalan capital's international airport to help train local agents to screen for terrorist suspects. Honduras' immigration director Wilson Paz also denied such an agreement was signed. During US President Donald Trump's first term, the US signed such accords called safe third-country agreements with Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. They effectively allowed the US to declare some asylum seekers ineligible to apply for US protection and permitted the US government to send them to those countries deemed "safe." The US has had such an agreement with Canada since 2002. The practical challenge was that all three Central American countries at the time were seeing large numbers of their own citizens head to the US to escape violence and a lack of economic opportunity. They also had extremely under-resourced asylum systems. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that Mexico would not sign a safe third-country agreement, but at the same time Mexico has accepted more than 5,000 migrants from other countries deported from the US since Trump took office. She said Mexico accepted them for humanitarian reasons and helped them return to their home countries. The Trump administration says Guatemala and Honduras have signed agreements to potentially offer refuge to people seeking asylum in the US - but the two countries are denying any deal. The agreements were announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as the US administration seeks flexibility in returning migrants not only to their own countries, but also to third countries as it attempts to ramp up deportations. Noem described it as a way to offer asylum-seekers options other than coming to the United States. She said the agreements had been in the works for months. with the US government applying pressure on Honduras and Guatemala to get them done. "Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well," Noem said. "We've never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn't necessarily have to be the United States." Both governments denied having signed safe third-country agreements when asked following Noem's comments. Guatemala's presidential communications office reaffirmed that Guatemala would receive Central Americans sent by the United States as a temporary stop on the return to their countries. Noem said Thursday that "politically, this is a difficult agreement for their governments to do." Both countries have limited resources and many needs making support for asylum-seekers from other countries a tougher sell domestically. There are also the optics of two left-of-centre governments appearing to help the Trump administration limit access to US asylum. Noem said she was given the already signed agreement, during her meeting in Guatemala. Later there was a public signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding that will put US Customs and Border Protection officers in the Guatemalan capital's international airport to help train local agents to screen for terrorist suspects. Honduras' immigration director Wilson Paz also denied such an agreement was signed. During US President Donald Trump's first term, the US signed such accords called safe third-country agreements with Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. They effectively allowed the US to declare some asylum seekers ineligible to apply for US protection and permitted the US government to send them to those countries deemed "safe." The US has had such an agreement with Canada since 2002. The practical challenge was that all three Central American countries at the time were seeing large numbers of their own citizens head to the US to escape violence and a lack of economic opportunity. They also had extremely under-resourced asylum systems. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that Mexico would not sign a safe third-country agreement, but at the same time Mexico has accepted more than 5,000 migrants from other countries deported from the US since Trump took office. She said Mexico accepted them for humanitarian reasons and helped them return to their home countries.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Guatemala, Honduras deny asylum-seeker deal with US
The Trump administration says Guatemala and Honduras have signed agreements to potentially offer refuge to people seeking asylum in the US - but the two countries are denying any deal. The agreements were announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as the US administration seeks flexibility in returning migrants not only to their own countries, but also to third countries as it attempts to ramp up deportations. Noem described it as a way to offer asylum-seekers options other than coming to the United States. She said the agreements had been in the works for months. with the US government applying pressure on Honduras and Guatemala to get them done. "Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well," Noem said. "We've never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn't necessarily have to be the United States." Both governments denied having signed safe third-country agreements when asked following Noem's comments. Guatemala's presidential communications office reaffirmed that Guatemala would receive Central Americans sent by the United States as a temporary stop on the return to their countries. Noem said Thursday that "politically, this is a difficult agreement for their governments to do." Both countries have limited resources and many needs making support for asylum-seekers from other countries a tougher sell domestically. There are also the optics of two left-of-centre governments appearing to help the Trump administration limit access to US asylum. Noem said she was given the already signed agreement, during her meeting in Guatemala. Later there was a public signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding that will put US Customs and Border Protection officers in the Guatemalan capital's international airport to help train local agents to screen for terrorist suspects. Honduras' immigration director Wilson Paz also denied such an agreement was signed. During US President Donald Trump's first term, the US signed such accords called safe third-country agreements with Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. They effectively allowed the US to declare some asylum seekers ineligible to apply for US protection and permitted the US government to send them to those countries deemed "safe." The US has had such an agreement with Canada since 2002. The practical challenge was that all three Central American countries at the time were seeing large numbers of their own citizens head to the US to escape violence and a lack of economic opportunity. They also had extremely under-resourced asylum systems. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that Mexico would not sign a safe third-country agreement, but at the same time Mexico has accepted more than 5,000 migrants from other countries deported from the US since Trump took office. She said Mexico accepted them for humanitarian reasons and helped them return to their home countries.
