Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Denial of entry and deportation of work visa holder "Jonathan" — A man with a US work visa provided an anonymous account of being denied entry to the US after a trip to Australia to scatter his sister's ashes. He was pulled aside on arrival in Houston, Texas, and accused of selling drugs and having improper paperwork. After detention for over a day, he was put on a flight back to Australia despite having worked on the US east coast for five years and living with his girlfriend.
• Denial of entry and detention of UK Subs band members — Members of the punk rock band UK Subs were denied entry and detained in the US on their way to play a gig in Los Angeles after being questioned about visas. Bassist Alvin Gibbs stated he wondered whether his frequent and critical public comments about Trump and his administration played a role. The three band members were kept in harsh conditions for 24 hours then deported back to the UK.
• Denial of entry to French scientist for criticizing Trump administration — A French scientist was denied entry to the US after immigration officers at an airport searched his phone and found messages in which he had expressed criticism of the Trump administration. The researcher was on his way to a conference in Texas. France's minister of higher education and research, Philippe Baptiste, stated that "freedom of opinion, free research, and academic freedom are values that we will continue to proudly uphold."
• Detention and alleged abuse of German green-card holder Fabian Schmidt — Fabian Schmidt, a 34-year-old German national and US green-card holder, was apprehended by border officials as he returned to New Hampshire from a trip to Luxembourg. His family stated he was held for hours at Boston's Logan airport, stripped naked and put in a cold shower, then deprived of food and medicine, and collapsed. His case is being investigated. He was released from ICE detention in Rhode Island in mid-May.
• Detention and deportation of British graphic artist Rebecca Burke — British graphic artist Rebecca Burke was arrested at the border while traveling from Seattle to Canada as a backpacker due to a visa mix-up. She became one of 32,809 people arrested by ICE during the first 50 days of Trump's presidency. After nearly three weeks of grueling detention conditions, she smuggled out poignant drawings of fellow detainees when released.
• Detention and deportation of German tourist Jessica Brösche — German tourist and tattoo artist Jessica Brösche, 29, from Berlin was detained by US immigration authorities and deported back to Germany after more than six weeks in US detention, including eight days in solitary confinement. Her family compared her ordeal to "a horror film."
• Detention and questioning of US citizen attorney Amir Makled at airport — Amir Makled, a Detroit-born attorney, was questioned at the airport upon returning from vacation and flagged to a terrorism response team. He was kept behind and pressured to hand over his phone and some of its contents. Makled represents a pro-Palestinian student protester arrested at the University of Michigan. Experts said the incident was evidence of a weakening of Fourth Amendment constitutional protections at the border against unreasonable search and seizure.
• Detention of Canadian visitor Jasmine Mooney in ICE facilities — Canadian Jasmine Mooney was shackled and detained in ICE facilities for two weeks over an alleged work visa irregularity while visiting California. She spoke out about harsh detention conditions, information blackouts, and her outrage that many other detainees she met remain stranded without access to resources that helped her secure release.

Supporting reports

• DHS falsely claims U.S. citizen assaulted border patrol agents after being detained outside car repair shop — Border Patrol agents detained a 29-year-old U.S. citizen outside his car repair shop. In video footage, the man repeatedly stated he was an American citizen while an agent pushed him into a metal gate. He was eventually released. After the Los Angeles Times published a story documenting rising "fears of racial profiling," DHS issued a press release calling the reporting "fake news" and claiming the man "ASSAULTED US Customs and Border Protection Agents," contradicting the video evidence.