WorldPride speaker says she was denied entry to US after Cuba visit

The Hill

2 days ago

Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, a British political and LGBTQ rights activist, said she was denied entry to the U.S. over a recent trip to Cuba.
Opoku-Gyimah, also known as Lady Phyll, had been scheduled to deliver opening remarks at WorldPride's human rights conference, which runs June 4-6 in Washington.
Speaking over a livestream Wednesday afternoon, Opoku-Gyimah said U.S. officials revoked her visa waiver under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), an automated system determining whether visitors from participating countries may enter the U.S. without a visa.
Travel to Cuba, which the U.S. designated a state sponsor of terrorism in 2021, is grounds for having an ESTA revoked, according to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) website. The Caribbean nation's terror designation was briefly rescinded under former President Biden and reinstated by President Trump in January.
Opoku-Gyimah said she was notified of the revocation of her travel authorization days before she was set to fly to the U.S. for WorldPride. She applied for a temporary visa, she said, but was told the earliest she could enter the country was September.
'I've called. I've written. I've pleaded,' said Opoku-Gyimah, the co-founder and CEO of UK Black Pride. 'And the answer was a cold, bureaucratic 'No.''
DHS did not immediately return a request for comment.
Opoku-Gyimah's virtual remarks on Wednesday highlighted the LGBTQ community's diversity, and she encouraged WorldPride gatherers to embrace the group's intersectional identities.
'Enjoy the Pride, walk together, walk proudly and talk proudly,' she said. 'Be bold and brave in our fight for justice.'
The U.K. issued a travel warning for the U.S. in March, cautioning British passport holders that 'authorities in the U.S. set and enforce entry rules strictly' and 'you may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules.'
Other countries, including Denmark and Finland, have issued travel advisories for transgender visitors to the U.S., referencing policies instituted by the Trump administration targeting trans rights.