Irish travellers to the US advised to wipe critical or humorous political content

Irish tourists travelling to the USA should review their online content before travelling to the US.

That was the advice from travel agents after another tourist was sent home from a US airport following an interrogation and phone inspection  by immigration officers.

Travellers should ‘wipe’ any content they may have posted or shared that could be deemed as critical of US policy – even if it’s a joke, the Irish Travel Agents’ Assocation advises. “It is a personal decision but we would advise travellers to review their social media accounts, removing any posts or comments, even those made in jest, that could be seen to be derogatory to the US and their policies,” it said in a statement to the Irish Mail On Sunday.

“For many years there has been the possibility of being asked about your social media accounts and to examine electronics. This is not new policy but latest reports are that the US is now being more vigilant about this.”

The comments came after a bizarre scene in the Dail on Wednesday where Labour leader Ivana Bacik displayed a blown-up image of US vice president JD Vance with a bald egg-shaped head, which was a jokey ‘meme’ widely shared on social media.  

This was the ‘meme’ that was allegedly found on the phone of Norwegian student Mads Mikkelsen at US immigration control - and he claims it was the reason he was sent back home.

Such instances, although unproven in this case, were described as a “major incursion on freedom of expression” by Ms Bacik.

“Things have changed drastically under US President Trump, with the recent authoritarian announcement that students (seeking J1 visas) would have to hand over social media accounts,” Ms Bacik told the Dáil.

Mr Mikkelsen, however, was not a student. He was a tourist, who are normally given less severe treatment than student visa applicants who aim to work in the USA.

He had arrived at New Jersey's Newark Airport on June 11 looking forward to a holiday visiting friends in New York and Texas.  Instead, he told Norwegian outlet Nordlys,  he had been pulled aside by border control and put in a cell.

'They asked questions about drug trafficking, terrorist plots and right-wing extremism totally without reason,' he alleged in an interview with the outlet.

Mr Mikkelsen claimed that the officers then threatened him with a $5,000 fine or five years in prison if he refused to give the password to his mobile phone.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, operating under the Department of Homeland Security, has denied that  Mr Mikkelsen was denied entry for “any memes or political reasons.”

 Irish tourists to the USA do not technically need a visa. They can apply for what is known as an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) document.

This is applied for via an ESTA website (.gov) or a designated app under the Visa Waiver Program for stays of 90 days or less. 

However, having an approved ESTA does not guarantee entry. All travellers are subject to potential interrogation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, who will make the final decision. 

 And Norway, like many countries experience similar issues, is also part of the ESTA scheme.

 Mr Mikkelsen’s case joins a growing list of travellers being denied entry after phone searches, although refusals for political reasons are denied by US officials.

A writer from Australia (also part of the ESTA scheme) claimed he was turned away from the US border after being grilled on his views on the Gaza conflict and articles he wrote about pro-Palestinian protests.

Alistair Kitchen, 33, boarded a flight from Melbourne to New York to visit friends on June 12 when he was pulled to one side by a Customs and Border Protection officer during a layover in Los Angeles.

He was detained for 12 hours at Los Angeles International Airport before being put on a flight back to Melbourne.

Mr Kitchen said he was refused entry to the US because of his political beliefs, but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since said this is 'unequivocally false'.

The department also denied a French researcher’s claim that he had been sent home for critical remarks of US policy he made online.

Whatever the truth of the matter, there is growing unease about travelling to the US from a country like Ireland, where even conservatives freely share  humorous content that may be seen as critical to US political figures such as Donald Trump.

Travellers refused entry to the US by immigration officials have no grounds for claiming for compensation on most travel insurance policies.

 “The policy would not cover cancellation for denied boarding or denied visa application,” confirms Jason Whelan, managing director of Cover-More Blue, which also owns Multitrip.com and several other insurance agents.

However, with pre-flight visa clearance based in Irish airports, unlike Mr Mikkelsen, “in the unlikely chance they are rejected, they are still in Ireland and won’t face long delays or return flights,” said the ITAA.

 Despite the furore – and earlier reports that travel to the US has fallen sharply - the ITAA say Irish travellers are not being put off travelling to the US.

“The majority of people travelling from Ireland to the US are travelling directly, that means that they are going through US passport control pre-clearance in Ireland.

 “While some travel agents have seen individual cancellations, generally we are seeing numbers for 2025 on a par with 2024. It has been the ITAA experience that the vast majority of tourists travelling are not experiencing visa problems. Long-established routes to US gateways continue to perform strongly, while newer routes to Las Vegas and Nashville are gaining steady momentum.”

A controversial meme of US Vice President JD Vance

Visa experts say individual immigration officers wield considerable power and latitude in making decisions at immigration control and a small number may take a particularly severe approach to what they find on tourists’ phones.