‘It's a bit of a shift for the land of free speech': US visa applicants switch social media profiles to public
While waiting to cross the road to join the queue for a visa appointment at the
US
Embassy in
Dublin
on Friday, Anna reluctantly turned her Instagram account to public mode, making it free for all to see.
She had earlier unfollowed every vaguely Palestine-related account she could think of for fear of it being used to deny her a visa to enter the US.
Anna, who is due to start studying at a university on the US's east coast in September, was reluctant to share any more personal details.
The concern was that she could potentially face push back from US officials for voicing her opinions on the
Trump
administration's tightening of immigration restrictions.
READ MORE
In a statement on Monday, the embassy said students from Ireland, and all foreign countries, seeking US educational and exchange visas would be required to make their social media profiles public to allow officials to review their online activity.
The US state department is committed to 'upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process', it said, adding that '
a US visa is a privilege, not a right
'.
The approach, part of a crackdown by the Trump administration
targeting
would-be anti-Semitism, was criticised by the Taoiseach and Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn, formerly the Union of Students in Ireland.
Pro-Palestinian supporters hold signs during demonstrations last year at The City College Of New York as police cracked down on protest camps. Photograph:Anna said it feels as if 'I have to go back on some of my morals and values' in order to meet immigration requirements despite Israel's ongoing bombardment and blockade of Gaza.
She is not alone. J1 visa applications were down 25 per cent this year as some reconsidered their travel plans in accordance with their political views or activity.
Anna and three other Irish applicants have been accepted to study at the same university, with all of them wary of sharing their anxieties about going stateside online.
'We're trying not to text about it,' she said. 'We're meeting up in person to talk about it. I don't know, it's so hard to know what's going to happen but we're just trying to avoid writing anything down.'
Standing at the back of the line waiting for her appointment outside the US embassy in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Anna said 'yesterday I was really doubting if I even want to go'.
'My parents are telling me to take this opportunity but I'm just still doubting if I want to go,' she added.
Garry Kerr is less apprehensive, but still recognises the uncertainty that looms over his trans-Atlantic trip.
'It's completely out of my hands,' he said of whether or not his application would approved by US immigration officials.
When applying for an embassy appointment, he said he was asked to list all of his social media accounts.
'At the bottom of the page it says 'do you feel like you want to include something else that isn't listed here?',' he said.
'It really makes you think: 'Am I going to be caught in a corner here?'.'
He added: 'I gave it away no bother, but afterwards I didn't feel great about it, to be honest, because it's your privacy at the end of the day. It's a bit of a shift for 'the land of free speech', but you have to go with it.'
Kerr is hoping to to go to New York for two months, having secured a job at a summer camp.
A part-time photographer, he said he did not wipe any content from his social media accounts, but was worried about one photograph which had a Palestinian flag in the background of a wider shot from a football match in Co Sligo.
'I was really stressed about that for a long time. I couldn't sleep for a while actually just thinking about it,' he said.
Kerr opted not to delete the post in the end.
'I love the photo too much,' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Are you staying or going?': The question all Irish emigrants eventually face
Ireland's long-standing history of emigration is reflected in a piece by Mark Paul , London Correspondent, in which he says, 'Over the decades the area had been a magnet for Irish immigrants, but the community aged. Younger London Irish now favour Hackney or Clapham. Meanwhile, Archway's green army went grey.' While Mark's piece centres around Martin Fallon, an 'old boy from Ireland' who died in May, he speaks to locals in the traditional London-Irish community about how things have evolved. It's interesting to consider the changing face of the Irish community in London, especially since – for the most part – the whys of leaving their homeland are generally the same after all this time. For Peter Flanagan, he says that when he first moved to the UK, he expected to stay about six months. Now, after six years, however, he's wondering will he ever leave. Having bought his first home in the English capital, though, he feels that's probably an indication – and not a conscious decision – that he's here for good. Despite this, Flanagan says: 'My real fear is staying in the UK so long that I go full Pierce Brosnan. So far removed from my place of origin that I become an awkward facsimile of myself. Half-remembered visions of my childhood blurring with drunken fever dreams. Perched on a barstool in a silk cravat, waxing lyrical about the old country to anyone who will listen. 'I do miss Éire,' I'd slur. 'My father built our family home from clay and sticks on the banks of the river Liffey. I often wonder if it's still standing.'' Something students considering a move to the US should bear in mind are new visa requirements introduced this week. In a statement on Monday, the US embassy in Dublin said the US State Department is 'committed to protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process'. READ MORE The embassy said visa applicants will be required to list all social media usernames or handles for every platform they have used from the last five years on their visa application form so these accounts can be vetted. Taoiseach Micheál Martin condemned the new requirements as 'excessive' and said that they will cause 'fear and anxiety' among young people. Read more about the changes here . Columnist Laura Kennedy says there is always one question she is asked as an emigrant in Australia: 'Are you staying or going?' And while it may be a nudge from loved ones to get you home, it eventually becomes a real question in need of a serious answer. This month, she also looked at what Irish people are good at – digesting dairy, drinking and, of course, emigration. Our shortcoming? Pollen. And, by God, her allergies are not holding back in the hay fever capital of Canberra. As autumn hits down under, it's not letting up either. She writes: 'It does make me miss Limerick a bit, though, and its chaste plant-life that has the decency to die – or to play dead – once autumn shuffles in.' Adrian O'Sullivan, from Cork, has no plans to leave Berlin, which he first visited in 1988 as an 18-year-old. Speaking to Frank Dillon, he says he's noticed subtle changes over the years. 'When I came here first, what I often remarked upon was that, for Germans, everything is absolutely forbidden unless it is allowed whereas, for the Irish, everything is allowed unless it is absolutely forbidden. Sometimes Irish people have come here thinking they can do things the same was as they can in Cahersiveen, but that doesn't work.' Wicklow woman Orla McLaughlin lives in Venice and says she felt connected to the city from early on. She misses friends and family in Ireland, however, and returns once or twice a year, 'though it was easier when the children were younger. You inevitably miss out on some milestones and sharing some of your own too.' Finally, if, when you ask yourself should you stay or go, you decide a return to Ireland is on the cards, you may want to check out our guide on how to go about buying property in Ireland from abroad. Thanks for reading.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Love you all, it's been a privilege': Joe Duffy presents last Liveline as he retires from RTÉ
The Taoiseach and President led tributes to Joe Duffy as he presented his last Liveline programme on RTÉ Radio 1 on Friday. The veteran presenter is retiring from the station after 37 years, signing off as one of the most influential and popular broadcasters in Irish media. He has hosted Liveline, which frequently attracted more than 400,000 listeners, since 1998. During a special live show on Friday afternoon, RTÉ's Shay Byrne read out a message from President Michael D Higgins , who praised Duffy's 'lifelong commitment to justice, equality and public service'. The President extended 'the warmest of thanks on behalf of the Irish people for your remarkable contribution to public life, one that you have shaped with empathy, insight and an unwavering commitment to the voices of ordinary people'. READ MORE He continued: 'Through your work, you have borne witness to the struggles and triumphs of the Irish people, often giving voice to those on the margins and creating a space in which silence could be broken and solidarity expressed, reminding us that behind every headline is a human story, reminding us too that our society is strengthened by the lived experiences of its people.' Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin called in to the show, telling Duffy: 'You were and are the voice of the people.' Noting how influential the programme was, Martin said there were many afternoons where a civil servant would run into his office saying a certain topic was 'on fire' on Liveline, meaning the Government would have to 'do this, that and the other'. Martin said he and Duffy go way back, saying: 'You taught me a few things when I was a student activist.' Before Duffy quipped: 'You forgot them quick enough then.' On a more personal note, Martin thanked Duffy for his 'extraordinary' acts of kindness, adding: 'That has touched our family quite a lot.' Recalling how they were both at a crab fishing competition in Courtmacsherry in Co Cork years ago, Martin said that Duffy had, unbeknown to him, taken photos of him holding his young daughter Leana while they looked out to sea. The Taoiseach said it was 'one of the last great days' his family had with Leana, who died in 2010 from a cardiac condition when she was just seven years old. After Leana died, Duffy sent him the photos. 'That's something [my wife] Mary and I have always treasured, and we thank you,' Martin said. [ Micheál Martin: 'You will always say you have the kids you lost' Opens in new window ] At the start of the show, Duffy noted he wasn't 'allowed' into the studio until 'about two minutes' before they went on air. There were many familiar faces in the crowd including long-time friends and colleagues Brenda Donohue and June Rodgers, and several Liveline listeners who the show helped over the years. Duffy joked that he recognised a number of people in the audience from Crime Call. Live music was performed by the Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band and the Camembert Quartet, who opened the show with a special rendition of Thank You for Being a Friend, among others. Duffy noted the Liveline would be open as normal on Monday, even if he wasn't there. Signing off for the last time, he kept it short and sweet: 'Love you all, it's been a privilege.'
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Daddy' Trump meets Nato, while defence, trade and Gaza dominate EU summit
Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn join Jack Horgan-Jones to look back on the week in politics: US President Donald Trump was the main attraction at a landmark Nato summit on Wednesday with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte calling him 'Daddy' during their press conference. Trump got what he came for with Nato member states agreeing to an increase of 5 per cent of GDP in defence spending . Over at the EU leaders summit on Thursday, defence spending was also high on the agenda with Ireland backing the EU's €150bn defence plan . The war in Gaza was highlighted too with Taoiseach Micheál Martin unable to comprehend how Europe doesn't seem capable of putting any pressure on Israel to stop it. And with Trump's tariffs pause set to end on July 9th, Ireland and other EU countries will be forgiven for looking at India and China as greater trading partners. Do policy interventions like reviewing RPZs compensate for the delayed release of the Government's housing plan ? The document won't be published until after the summer. Presidential candidates are still pretty thin on the ground with Fine Gael's Seán Kelly saying he 'could do a lot' as president but stopped short of declaring he actually will enter the race. Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week: The endurance test that Irish concert-goers have to go through is worth it, Democratic mayoral primary Zohran Mamdani shocks as New York swelters, and Jaws and its Irish connection .
