Overview

• Mads Mikkelsen, 21, was detained at Newark Liberty International Airport on June 11 after agents discovered a digitally altered image of Vice President JD Vance on his device’s camera roll.
• Border officers threatened him with a $5,000 fine or five years in prison if he refused to unlock his phone and then conducted a strip search before collecting his fingerprints and blood samples.
• Officials subjected Mikkelsen to questions about drug trafficking, terrorist plots and right-wing extremism without providing a clear reason and deported him back to Norway later that day.
• The case highlights the Trump administration’s enforcement of new measures requiring travelers to reveal locked devices and proposals to vet visa applicants’ social media profiles.
• Multiple European visitors have reported similar entry refusals under the administration’s tightened border controls and social media surveillance policies.