Homeland Security is taking its job very seriously these days. Due to author 
Sebastian Horsley’s involvement with several ‘unseemly’ activities, the U.S. barred him from entering the country on the grounds of “moral turpitude” after landing in Newark on March 18. According to PEN American Center , U.S. Customs officials at Newark Liberty made the call after running “a Google search” on the writer and questioning him “for several hours about his statements and writings.” The decision to turn Horsley away was based on the author’s “admissions of past involvement with drugs and prostitution, as well as his participation in a self-crucifixion in the Philippines in 2000,” according to PEN.
PEN wants him back for its upcoming World Voices Festival at the end of April, and has drafted a letter to Homeland Security making that request. The Washington Post and Publishers Weekly report.
ps – I did a Google check on him too.
Criminals are inadmissable
Criminals are inadmissible. There are procedures to be followed should someone with a criminal history wish to visit or emigrate to the United States of America.
The States is not alone in this. I have co-workers who cannot go to Canada because they have been convicted of DUI. Canada too has procedures that may be followed should one encounter such obstacles.
There is a great lack of detail in the articles presented. It seems he was coming for some type of book tour which may have required an employment visa (as opposed to a business visa which is not generally needed for UK visitors to the US on short business trip. I know the reciprocal is true as I require no visa for the occasional week long visit to London for meetings). However a criminal conviction for drug use would exclude the traveler from this visa waiver program.
It appears his failure to make appropriate arrangements necessitated by his criminal convictions in the UK was what necessitated his repatriation by BA. It is incumbent on the carrier to return the traveler denied admission.
It might also have had to do with his top hat and tails. I can’t fathom one would not expect increased scrutiny when dressed like a buffoon. I certainly don’t fault ICE for using Google, if indeed they did or any other investigative tool at their disposal.
I can’t fathom that we want persons convicted of drug offenses whose claim to fame is that they patronize prostitutes, abuse illegal narcotics and write books about it entering the country.
Roman Polanski can’t enter the US either, Amy Winehouse, and any number of other undesirables are excluded from the country.
If he timely applied for a visa it most probably would have been granted, and he could have promoted his book – or attended parties to promote his book. Of course ICE can exclude people with a visa if they find it in the best interest of the USA, however it is rather uncommon.
If he is that rich and famous his lawyer could have had this completed in a few weeks.
He seems to me to be little more than a spoiled self-promoting remittance man with several illegal avocations.
homeland security
In an effort to protect this country, they took away my toothpaste in Newark.
Newark
They probably didn’t know what it was 🙂
I spent a week in Newark one afternoon.
they knew damn well what it was
It was Tom’s of Maine Cinnamint.
I offered to squeeze a part of it out (leaving 3 ounces), but no, that didn’t cut it. Oh well, I had to buy more which of course helped the U.S. economy.
Your mistake
You made the mistake of trying to understand the regulations. I simply gave up a long time ago.
I’ll be over here with the other sheeple. 🙂