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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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A French scientist was reportedly detained as he tried to enter the United States after criticizing President Donald Trump's cuts to science funding.
The man was on his way to a conference when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) took him into custody over the comments found in messages on his phone, according to Agence France-Presse.
A CBP official told Newsweek on Thursday that the agency cannot comment on individual cases but that all individuals arriving at the U.S. border are subject to search on a case-by-case basis.
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Newsweek reached out to the French government for comment via email on Wednesday evening.
Why It Matters
The arrest continues a reported trend of temporary visa holders and visitors being detained by U.S. border officials on their way into the country amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration and concerns that free speech is no longer a defense when it comes to legal immigration status.
What To Know
The space researcher was randomly selected for a search when arriving in Houston, Texas, on March 9, AFP and Le Monde reported. Officers found messages criticizing Trump's policies on his phone and computer following sweeping cuts to scientific research.
U.S. authorities saw these messages as "hate and conspiracy messages," which prompted an FBI investigation that was later dropped. However, the researcher was sent back to France.
CBP's move to deny entry to a foreign national seemingly solely based on their opinion of the president, rather than necessarily expressing ill will or intentions to harm him, comes amid increased scrutiny of those entering the country.
Legal permanent residents, along with those on work-based visas, have been questioned, detained and even removed from the country in recent weeks, including two German tourists and a Canadian woman trying to renew her visa at the southwest border.
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Immigration attorneys have begun advising clients to ensure their social media profiles are free of criticism of the administration and images that could be seen as inappropriate or in support of ideas that do not fit with current U.S. foreign policy.
The Trump administration is seeking to crack down on illegal immigration, including those who have outstayed visas or violated their terms. It has maintained that the focus, however, is on arresting and removing known immigrant criminals.
What People Are Saying
Hilton Beckham, assistant commissioner of Public Affairs at CBP, told Newsweek: "If individuals violate the terms of a lawful immigration status and attempt to re-enter the country, officers will take appropriate action. Federal privacy restrictions prohibit CBP from discussing specific cases.
"All persons arriving at a port of entry to the United States are subject to inspection on a case-by-case basis. As part of their critical national security mission, CBP officers routinely determine admissibility of foreign nationals using longstanding U.S. immigration law.
"If an individual has material discovered on their electronic media that raises flags during an inspection, it can result in further analysis. Claims that such decisions are politically motivated are completely unfounded."
French Minister of Higher Education and Research Philippe Baptiste, in a statement to AFP Wednesday: "I was told with concern that a French researcher, on a mission for the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), who was going to a conference near Houston, was banned from entering the U.S. before being expelled. This would have been taken by the U.S. authorities because the researcher's phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friendly relations in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration's research policy."
What Happens Next
The French government told Le Monde that the U.S. has sovereignty over who it can allow into the country but said French consulates had been informed of the situation. Following the news of the arrest of German citizens at the U.S. border, the German government said it was monitoring a potential shift in U.S. foreign policy.
Update 3/20/25, 1:03 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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