Was Alistair Kitchen, Australian writer deported from the US for his political views? Aussie blogger is denied entry into the United States after being questioned about his views about student protests over Israel-Gaza conflict. The Department of Homeland responds, insisting other real reasons he was denied.
An Australian writer (blogger) has told of being left ‘traumatized’ after a trip back to the United States where he had previously lived for 6 years ended in horror when last Thursday he was deported and not allowed entry.
Alistair Kitchen, 33, of Castlemaine, Victoria, had traveled back to the States ‘to catch up with friends’ on Thursday using a ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) under the Visa Waiver Program when according to the former Columbia University ‘creative writing major’ he was ‘singled out’ over the loud speaker on his arrival at Los Angeles International Airport en route to New York.
Kitchen may have suspected as a writer who had previously written about the anti Israel protests at Columbia that he may come under scrutiny, hence his decision to scrub one particularly critical post just some 48 hours before his trip, (along with some social media posts) which he suspects led to him being earmarked by border patrol agents (who had read it prior to it being scrubbed).
Read the post in part from March 2025, on his Kitchen Counter substack: ‘The arrest of a student on utterly specious grounds by a neo-fascist state, clearly designed to breed a climate of fear among students.’
Hardly congratulatory of the Trump administration and fair to say highly critical. One is wanton to suggest, as a journalist, writer, one is allowed, even encouraged to critically dissect ideas and issues and explore various themes. Even if that assessment isn’t necessarily the one that authorities or vested interests (never mind the readers) would prefer. But tolerate (presumably) nevertheless in an open ‘democratic society’. Define democracy?
Asked about his opinion by a customs agent about the protests and protesters, Kitchen said he was sympathetic to their cause. Which is different from writing an unbiased point of view stating facts as is wanton (in an ideal world) and expected of a journalist.
Kitchen further alleges being asked what Israel ‘should have done differently’ and ‘how I would resolve the conflict’. Which is to wonder, was there ever any legitimate threat with the Aussie writer’s presence in the U.S irrespective of his political views?
Kitchen according to the Sydney Morning Herald considers all his writing ‘reasonable moderate opinion’, though ‘unreasonable immoderate opinion should also be allowed in a liberal, open society’.
‘Should’ being the operative word. The reality, not always. Whether it offends woke sensibilities of progressives or whether it clashes with more militant authoritarian points of views.
But that might not necessarily be the reason why Kitchen was ultimately denied entry into the United States.
Having by now been taken to a sparse detention room for further interrogation for the next ten hours, Kitchen said he agreed to give border control the passcode to his phone where he was told they had ‘discovered evidence of drug use’.
Kitchen relented and admitted to having used drugs in the past (principally marijuana) along with consuming drugs in other countries according to the Guardian.
‘There’s certainly not proof of me doing drugs on my phone,’ he told the outlet. ‘But this is a method of interrogation that uses entrapment.’
The US Department of Homeland Security responding to Kitchen’s claims told news.com.au that the reason the Australian was denied entry into the U.S was because he had not disclosed illegal drug use on his ESTA application.
Stated the agency in part, ‘Mr Kitchen was denied entry because he “gave false information on his ESTA application regarding drug use. If a traveller violates the terms of their ESTA application, they may be subject to detention and removal.’
‘Using the ESTA is a privilege, not a right, and only those who respect our laws and follow the proper procedures will be welcomed.’
The agency adamantly refuted any claims that Kitchen was deported for his political views. But then again, would his alleged drug use would have been of any concern had his ‘critical writings’ caught the attention of border control and triggered his interrogation?
Similarly while one may regard the United States decision to bar Kitchen from U.S entry, Australia policy has equally shown its own hand, choosing to ban certain individuals from entering its own borders on the basis of the likelihood to incite dissent, controversy and bad moral character.
