A 21-year-old Norwegian tourist was denied entry at Newark Airport after US border agents discovered a meme depicting Senator JD Vance as bald on his phone.
He was detained in a cell, strip-searched, forced to surrender phone password, shoes, and backpack, and subjected to invasive questioning about drug smuggling, terrorism, and right-wing extremism.
Agents threatened him with a $5,000 fine or five years in prison if he refused to unlock his phone.
Two innocent images—a bald JD Vance meme and a photo of the tourist with a wooden pipe—led to his refusal and deportation the same day, without food or water.
He endured blood sampling, facial and fingerprint scans, and was held in a cell for five hours before being sent back to Oslo.
The incident highlights the expanded powers of US Customs and Border Protection to search travelers’ phones and the unpredictable nature of US entry regulations.
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