After perusing her social media activity, Nigerian businesswoman denied entry and flies back home to count her losses
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
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“When I landed, I was detained for 24 hours and I was questioned. I told them I was going to exhibit but I did not know any better because the US has your data and your Instagram page ….
“Apparently, my Instagram says different. They even checked all my messages with my customers. The customers I have been telling that we are coming, they can pick up and all of that” – Nigerian businesswoman denied entry as US airport.
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A Nigerian businesswoman has been denied entry into the United States, despite holding a valid visa and documents for a trade fair in the country, after Donald Trump folks went through her Instagram and other social media activity.
The US President has been railing against and finding all manner of excuses to deport existing (non-White) immigrants, and prevent intending ones from stepping foot in America, since he returned to the White House in January.
Trump has also issued an Executive Order which bans birthright citizenship to every baby born in the US except at least one of the parents is a citizen or has legal residency status. The constitutionality of the order is being challenged in court.
He has banned the nationals of some (mostly non-White) countries from visiting the US, alleging security threat.
And he has an Executive Order in place demanding non-immigrant visa applications be submitted at US embassies with social media usernames (handles) dating back five years, to fish out those likely to pose a threat to America and its citizens.
Trump’s clampdown on immigrants is despite the fact both his grandparents were German immigrants in the US, his mother was a Scottish immigrant, his third and current wife Melania is a Slovenian immigrant who married him in 2005 and became a naturalised US citizen a year later.
One of his former wives – Ivana Trump – was an immigrant from the Czech Republic, but the other, Maria Maples, was born in the US.
Per Vanguard reporting, the Nigerian lady shows her picture but did not disclose her name in a video posted on social media upon her return to Nigeria. She said she was travelling to Texas for a trade fair with a B1/B2 visa that allows travel for both tourism and business meetings.
“I was denied entrance into the US and that is because my visa [is] a B1–B2 visa which is [for] tourism/business meetings,” she recounted in tears.
“When I landed, I was detained for 24 hours and I was questioned. I told them I was going to exhibit but I did not know any better because the US has your data and your Instagram page.”
She said immigration officials scrutinised her social media activity and private messages, using them to challenge her stated purpose of visit.
“Apparently, my Instagram says different. They even checked all my messages with my customers. The customers I have been telling that we are coming, they can pick up and all of that.”
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