American immigration agents denied entry to the country to a French scientist who intended to attend a conference after inspecting his mobile phone and discovering critical messages against Donald Trump. Philippe Baptiste, French Minister of Research, made the incident public and expressed his "concern" about what happened in statements to the AFP agency.
"A French researcher commissioned by the National Center for Scientific Research was traveling to Houston to participate in a conference and was expelled," Baptiste declared. "This measure was apparently taken by American authorities because his phone contained exchanges with friends and colleagues expressing his personal opinion on the research policies of the Trump Administration."
The name of the allegedly banned scientist has not been revealed at this time. The incident occurred on March 9, on the eve of the Planetary and Lunar Science Conference held in Houston.
"Freedom of opinion and research, and academic freedom are values that we will continue to proudly uphold," emphasized Philippe Baptiste, who has also been very critical of the cuts and harassment by the Trump Administration towards scientists. "I will always defend the right of French researchers to remain faithful to these principles, as long as the law is respected."
The US Department of Homeland Security has not provided its version of the events. Diplomatic sources cited by AFP stated that American authorities randomly selected the scientist upon his arrival in the United States and inspected his personal computer and mobile phone.
He was apparently accused of "conspiratorial messages reflecting hatred towards Trump and that could be classified as terrorism". The FBI even opened an investigation, but the charges were dropped before he was expelled and sent back to Europe, after his "personal and professional material" was confiscated, as reported by Le Monde.
On the same day as the incident, Minister Philippe Baptiste published a letter openly criticizing Donald Trump and Elon Musk for the drastic cuts in scientific research. "Many renowned researchers are questioning their future in the United States", Baptiste wrote. "We would naturally welcome a certain number."