Does Trump want ICE to detain J1 students for holding up this meme?
Does Trump want ICE to detain J1 students for holding up this meme? - The Labour Party
Today in the Dáil, Labour leader Ivana Bacik TD held up the meme that Trump appears to want ICE to use in order to detain people and deny them entry to the US.
The meme depicts Vice President JD Vance as a baby.
Describing the measures proposed by the Trump administration as draconian, Deputy Bacik said that Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan has a role to play in restoring faith in the J1 system.
Deputy Bacik said:
“Only this week, a young Norwegian tourist was detained by ICE at Newark Airport for possessing a meme on his mobile phone depicting Vice President Vance as a baby. Surely ICE have more pressing things on their minds than hauling in every person with a meme aimed at senior figures in the Trump administration?
“If this authoritarian new US policy wasn’t so utterly draconian, it might be laughable. But this new practice appears to demonstrate the fragility of egos within the Trump-Vance Administration. It is extraordinary to see this heightened level of incursion into the freedom of expression of those seeking to travel to the US, including those young Irish people travelling on J1 visas. We have never seen such an approach taken in any Western democracy before – it would have been unthinkable prior to Trump’s election.
“The institution of the J1 visa has a long and proud history of strengthening relationships between Ireland and the US, but Trump’s new rules are leaving a sour taste in the mouths of all young people, and their parents, here in Ireland. Families are greatly concerned over the announcement that students will have to hand over their social media accounts to the US administration on seeking permission to enter the US.
“We are witnessing a major and utterly unwarranted undermining of freedom of expression principles from the US administration, in particular where they are targeting young people, and the use of humorous memes on their phones. I urge the Minister for Justice to intervene, to challenge his counterparts in the US, and to seek to restore faith in the J1 system.”