American authorities have responded after Aussie musician Keli Holiday revealed he was denied re-entry into the US part-way through his overseas tour.
Holiday — whose real name is Adam Hyde — was forced to cancel the New York City date of his North American tour when, after performing a show in Toronto, he was “detained” at the Canadian border and refused entry back into the US.
Holiday said on social media that he was denied “despite having the proper visa documentation” and that no official reason was given for the refusal by border authorities.
The news came against the backdrop of Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies, which in recent times have seen Aussie travellers refused entry into the US if they’d shared negative social media content about the president.
Soon after news of his border debacle, Holiday’s girlfriend, Abbie Chatfield, apologised for a resurfaced video which some people interpreted as encouraging violence against Trump — though she clarified that she did not share the apology because of Holiday’s visa issue.
Now, a spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection has reacted to the story, saying Holiday was refused entry due to “national security concerns”.
“Adam Hyde was not deported,” the spokesperson told the Daily Mail. “The Trump Administration is enforcing immigration laws… All persons arriving at a port of entry to the US are subject to inspection on a case-by-case basis.”
The spokesperson went on to explain that border authorities determine whether a traveller can enter the US based on “60 grounds of inadmissibility”, and that they can be “subject to detention or removal” if these grounds are violated.
“A visa is a privilege, not a right, and only those who respect our laws and follow the proper procedures will be welcomed,” the spokesperson said.
The US Customs and Border Protection did not explicitly say Holiday or Chatfield’s social media activity was behind the musician’s detention at the Canadian border, but rather reiterated the Trump administration’s policies for anyone travelling to the US.
When announcing the visa issue on Instagram, Holiday said he was “still trying to get clarity on the situation myself” and thanked fans for their “patience while I figured this out”.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has contacted Holiday for comment.
Meanwhile, Chatfield said on TikTok that she apologised for the resurfaced video because she “want[s] to change the way that I communicate online”, not because of the situation with Holiday.
“[The apology] is coming off the back of news articles saying this about Adam. Now, I want to be clear, we have no official reason for that happening,” Chatfield said.
Ticketholders for Holiday’s NYC show were refunded after his visa issue and he has since returned to Australia, with a string of domestic shows slated for NSW and Victoria throughout the rest of this month.
Lead images: Keli Holiday/Instagram
The post US Border Authorities Respond After Keli Holiday Was Detained At Canadian-US Border appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
