A French scientist was reportedly refused entry to the U.S after immigration officers searched his cellphone at the airport and found messages critical of the Trump administration.
The scientist, a space researcher, was traveling to Houston to attend a conference on March 9, a diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse.
But when he arrived at border security, he was subjected to a ârandomâ security check and stripped of his cellphone and work laptop, the source reported.
Security officials then combed through the scientistâs private messages and reportedly found conversations with colleagues in which he discussed the treatment of scientists under the current administration, which they said âshowed hatred towards Trump and could be qualified as terrorism.â
The scientistâs equipment was seized and he was told he would be investigated by the FBI for possessing âhateful and conspiratorial messages.â He was sent on a plane back to France the next day, a second source told AFP.
Franceâs higher education minister, Philippe Baptiste, responded with outrage to the incident, writing in a statement to AFP on Wednesday: âI learned with concern that a French researcher who was heading to a conference near Houston was forbidden from entering U.S. territory before being expelled.
âThis measure was taken by the U.S. authorities because the researcherâs phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed his political opinion on the policies of the Trump administration on research,â he added.
âFreedom of opinion, free research, and academic freedom are values ââthat we will continue to proudly uphold. I will defend the right of all French researchers to be faithful to them, while respecting the law.â
Although Baptiste acknowledged that the United States was âsovereignâ in deciding who could or could not enter its country, he nevertheless said he âdeplored the situation.â
Baptiste, himself an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, also criticized the huge cuts made to scientific research budgets under the current administration and urged American scientists to relocate to France.
In a letter published the same day the researcher was denied entry to the U.S., the minister said: âMany well-known researchers are already questioning their future in the United States. We would naturally wish to welcome a certain number of them.â
Baptiste also published a video on X in which he claimed he had âheard Elon Musk say that the International Space Station should be shut down in 2027.
âWho are we talking about? The boss of SpaceX? The head of the American public administration? None of this makes any sense,â he added.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
