Australian deported from US says he was targeted for writing on Palestine protests

Sydney Morning Herald

8 hours ago

Washington: An Australian man who attended Columbia University and was returning to the US for a holiday says he was detained and questioned for 12 hours by US border officials about his involvement in pro-Palestine activity on campus, before being deported back to Australia.
Alistair Kitchen, 33, flew to Los Angeles from Melbourne on Thursday, on the way to spend two weeks in New York, where he had lived for six years while working and studying.
He said that while he was in the immigration queue at Los Angeles International Airport, his name was announced via the intercom, and he was instructed to meet an officer at the back of the room.
'What began was a two-hour interview followed by 10 more hours of detention before I was put on a plane back home to Australia,' he said.
The incident is one of a number of similar encounters to occur at the US border since Donald Trump returned to the US presidency, with the Trump administration cracking down on what it deems antisemitism on campus, and cancelling visas or blocking entry for people alleged to have unwelcome views.
Kitchen said he sought advice before travelling to the US, as he anticipated his writing on a blog called Kitchen Counter could bring him to the attention of authorities. He scrubbed his phone of most, but not all, potentially problematic material.
He said border officers asked him for the passcode to his phone or told him he would be deported.
'I chose to be compliant, and that was an immense mistake,' Kitchen said. 'I urge all Australians to accept immediate deportation instead of complying with the request to hand over your phone ... It is far worse, and if they are asking for your phone, there is no likelihood they will ever let you in.'