Engineer, author, presenter, activist and former Queensland Young Australian of the Year, Yassmin Abdel-Magied has tweeted that she’s been refused entry to the United States. Abdel-Magied says that she was only in Minneapolis for three hours before she was denied entry.
“They’ve taken my phone, cancelled my visa and are deporting me,” she said. It is unclear where she was being sent back to.
The activist was in the U.S. ahead of speaking engagements in New York, but said that border agents decided to deport her almost immediately after reviewing her profile.
“Will follow up on messages once I understand what’s going on,” she tweeted.
They’ve taken my phone, cancelled my visa and are deporting me. Will follow up on messages once I understand what’s going on. https://t.co/uT61v8cZXG
— Yassmin Abdel-Magied (@yassmin_a) April 11, 2018
Top Comments
Didn't the well loved children's author Mem Fox also almost get deported after being interrogated for hours in US immigration a short while ago? The US seems crazy strict on their visa policies for public speakers, not sure if this has anything to do with her religion/colour.
They're crazy strict with everyone. You don't get a warm, fuzzy welcome by immigration staff when you enter the US, even when you are whiter-than-white. I travel there for conferences regularly, and have come to see you just have to expect it will be difficult and sometimes confrontational. But the onus is on the traveller to ensure they have the correct entry documents.
She isn’t banned from the US, she is free to reapply. She was refused entry because she had an incorrect visa, given she would be paid to appear at the events. Own goal, nothing more, nothing less and yes we know about her views, taxpayers in this awful country have provided her with a big platform via the ABC and other bodies.