The Guardian: French scientist denied US entry after phone messages critical of Trump found [View all]

[Dennis Donovan]

The Guardian - French scientist denied US entry after phone messages critical of Trump found

France’s research minister said the scientist was traveling to Houston for a conference when his phone was searched

Robert Mackey
Wed 19 Mar 2025 17.41 EDT

France’s research minister said a French scientist was denied entry to the US this month after immigration officers at an airport searched his phone and found messages in which he had expressed criticism of the Trump administration.

“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”, Philippe Baptiste, France’s minister of higher education and research, said in a statement on Monday to Agence France-Presse published by Le Monde. “This measure was apparently taken by the American authorities because the researcher’s phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy,” the minister added.

“Freedom of opinion, free research, and academic freedom are values ​​that we will continue to proudly uphold. I will defend the right of all French researchers to be faithful to them, while respecting the law,” Baptiste said.

A diplomatic source told the French news agency that the incident occurred on 9 March.

Another AFP source said that US authorities accused the French researcher of “hateful and conspiratorial messages”. He was reportedly also informed of an FBI investigation, but told that “charges were dropped” before being expelled.

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