PEN America ‘gravely concerned' by deportation of Australian writer critical of Trump administration

The Guardian

3 hours ago

A major writers' advocacy group has condemned the detention and deportation of an Australian writer from the US as 'gravely concerning', while the US administration rejected the suggestion he was targeted because of his political beliefs as 'unequivocally false'.
Alistair Kitchen, a former Columbia University postgraduate student, was last week detained at Los Angeles airport before being deported back to Melbourne. He said he was 'explicitly' told by US border officials he had been held because of his writing on pro-Palestinian campus protests.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said this week Kitchen was denied entry because he gave false information about drug use on his Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta), which allows eligible visitors to make a short trip to the US without a visa.
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'Using the Esta is a privilege, not a right, and only those who respect our laws and follow the proper procedures will be welcomed,' the spokesperson said.
Kitchen had ticked 'no' on his Esta application to a question asking travellers if they have ever consumed drugs, but later told border officials he had previously bought marijuana in New York state, where it is legal, and had consumed drugs in other countries.
The 33-year-old believes he was 'clearly targeted for politically motivated reasons' and said officials spent more than 30 minutes questioning him about his views on Israel and Palestine including his 'thoughts on Hamas'.
PEN America, a non-profit which raises awareness for the protection of free expression in the US, said that writers, artists and scholars must be free to express their views openly without compromising their free movement across borders.
'It is gravely concerning to read an account of someone being detained and turned away at the border due to their writings on student protests, Palestine, and the Trump administration,' the organisation said in a statement.
'Kitchen's account fits a disturbing pattern, in which border agents appear to be screening visitors to the U.S. for their viewpoints. That is anti-democratic, and it must be halted,' PEN America said.
This year, Kitchen published a piece on his blog, Kitchen Counter, on the Department of Homeland Security's detention of Mahmoud Khalil, the lead negotiator of the Columbia Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
In the article, Kitchen said Khalil had been arrested 'on utterly specious grounds by a neo-fascist state' with the goal of 'the deportation of dissent'.
He referred to the Trump administration's executive order of 30 January in which the government promised to go on the 'offense to enforce law and order' and 'cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses'.
When asked by reporters about Kitchen's case on Monday, Richard Marles, the acting prime minister, would not speculate as to what took place at the US border, but said that 'we have freedom of speech in this country and that's a very important part of our nation'.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed that consular assistance had been provided to an Australian who was refused entry into the US.
The universal human right of free speech is protected in the US by the first amendment and covers both US citizens and non-citizens.
Western Sydney University professor of law Chris Michaelsen suggested there was 'a grey zone' at the US border – and that the Trump administration was 'pushing the boundaries until there's resistance'.
Michaelsen said that under the first amendment, there is no legal basis on which border officials can deny an individual entry to the US because of what they have said or written. But what someone has said or written could prompt immigration officials to hold an individual while investigating their background.
'What's happening is that once you say something critical, you appear on somebody's radar,' Michaelsen said. 'It's used as a pretext to basically invoke the real powers that they have.'
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He said arriving visitors were particularly vulnerable because they do not have standby access to a lawyer – and any later legal challenge would be both lengthy and expensive.
It was not clear that there was a systematic attempt by the US administration to profile people's speech – but even a few cases of people with dissenting views being deported could have a 'chilling effect' on public speech, he said.
The director of the University of New South Wales' Australian Human Rights Institute, Prof Justine Nolan, said the right to free speech seemed to be interpreted differently for US citizens and non-citizens.
'It is somewhat of a 'moving feast' in terms of its application at the moment with priority apparently being given to 'national security' caveats as a means of not only restricting free speech but also intersecting with immigration policies,' she said.
The effect is that some visitors are taking precautions before entering the US – if they are choosing to travel there at all.
Guardian Australia has spoken with an Australian journalist based in the US who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He said when he was visiting Australia recently his company told him to post his smartphone to his home in the US rather than risk taking it through US immigration control.
The company also advised him to carry a temporary 'burner' phone with him when he returned to the US, he said.
He chose not to heed the advice and re-entered the US without issue.
Anthony Loewenstein, an Australian author, journalist and film-maker who is critical of the Israeli government, said he knows of several people, including authors, who have sought legal advice before travelling to the US for work.
Some have chosen to give lectures and attend book tours by Zoom rather than in person while others have taken burner phones to the US. Some have removed their social media accounts from their phones before flying – but, he said, 'you can't stop immigration officials Googling you'.
The result, he said, may be a 'kind of intellectual impoverishment within the US' as scientists, writers, academics and thinkers from around the world avoid travelling to the country.
'The American government seemingly doesn't want a plurality of views,' he said. 'I think the result will be that America and American intellectual life will become poorer.'
Dfat's Smartraveller website states US officials may ask to inspect travellers' electronic devices, emails, text messages or social media accounts – and if a traveller refuses, officials can deny entry.