Australian Man With Valid Visa Deported And Banned From Return After Verbal Abuse From Border Agents

The Guardian reports:

An Australian says he was detained and deported when returning from his sister’s memorial in March, despite holding a working visa still valid for more than a year. He has been living on the US east coast for the better part of a decade – where his American partner, apartment, work studio and clients remain. Jonathan, who spoke on the condition his real name was not disclosed, says he is now couch surfing in Australia, separated from his “whole life”.

“I thought I was just going to be given my passport and sent on my way, or maybe asked a couple of questions, but they made some pretty outlandish accusations. They said, ‘We know you have two mobile phones. We’ve been tracking your calls. We know you’ve been selling drugs’.” He says he told the border officer he did not drink, smoke or take drugs and owned just one phone. He was asked for his passcode. “That didn’t sound right. I asked to talk to a lawyer and they told me I had no rights.”

Read the full article. Jonathan says that when he asked a border agent to repeat a question, the reply was, “Are you deaf or just retarded?” He adds that he was then told, “Trump is back in town, we’re doing things the way we should have always been doing them.” Hit the link for much more. No paywall.

A seven year US resident with visa went to Australia for two days for his dead sister’s memorial. On return, he was detained for over 30 hours with no phone. Officials called him “retarded”, canceled his visa, and deported him with a 5 year ban from the US. The only explanation: pic.twitter.com/pLvmYMZaKL

— Sridhar Ramesh (@RadishHarmers) April 12, 2025