PARIS (Reuters) -A French scientist has been denied entry into the United States, apparently because the scientist had expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy, the French Education Ministry said on Thursday.
“I learned with concern that a French researcher on assignment for the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) who was traveling to a conference near Houston was denied entry to the United States before being expelled,” Minister for Higher Education and Research Philippe Baptiste said in a statement to AFP.
The measure was apparently taken because the scientist had expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy, he added, but did not elaborate.
An Education Ministry spokesperson confirmed the reports by AFP and Le Monde over a scientist being denied entry, without giving details.
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said privacy restrictions barred the agency from discussing specific cases, adding that all people arriving in the country are subject to inspection on a case-by-case basis.
“If an individual has material discovered on their electronic media that raises flags during an inspection, it can result in further analysis. Claims that such decisions are politically motivated are completely unfounded,” the spokesperson, Hilton Beckham, said in a statement.
President Donald Trump’s administration has taken various steps to cut or freeze federal funding for universities, medical centres and other research institutions since he took office in January.
On border matters, Trump has announced a number of immigration-related executive orders that focus on stricter border policy, tighter visa vetting procedures and a crackdown on undocumented migrants in the United States.
Germany this week updated its travel advisory for the U.S. to emphasise that a visa or entry waiver does not guarantee entry for its citizens after several Germans were detained at the border recently, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
In recent weeks Britain has also revised its advice for citizens travelling to the U.S., to include a warning that anyone found breaking its entry rules could face arrest or detention.
(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; additional reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Frances Kerry)
