Australian Writer Questioned, Deported from the USA
By The Committee to Protect Journalists
HAVANA TIMES – The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by reports that Australian writer Alistair Kitchen was denied entry into the United States after border officials at the Los Angeles International Airport searched his phone and questioned him about his views on the Israel-Gaza war.
“Alistair Kitchen’s deportation is a clear case of retaliation in connection with his reporting, and such action sends a chilling message to journalists that they must support the administration’s narratives or face forms of retribution,” said CPJ U.S., Canada and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Foreign media operating on U.S. soil are covered by First Amendment protections, and it is incumbent upon U.S. officials—from Customs and Border Patrol to the White House—to allow journalists to do their jobs and travel freely without fear of reprisal.”
Kitchen said he left Melbourne for New York on June 12 and was detained for 12 hours by US Customs and Border Protection officials during a layover in Los Angeles after being pulled aside for secondary screening. Kitchen told The Guardian that he was questioned in connection with his reporting on the pro-Palestinian Columbia student protests, which he published on his personal blog, Kitchen Counter.
Kitchen, who moved back to Australia from New York in 2024, said that interrogators asked him about his views on a one-state, versus two-state solution in relation to Israel and Palestine.
Earlier this year, CPJ issued its first-ever travel advisory for journalists entering the United States, which includes warnings about searches of electronic devices.
During the first Trump administration, CPJ published a report on the press freedom challenges posed by the U.S. border agency’s stop-and-search powers at the border.
CPJ emailed the Customs and Border Patrol office in southern California but did not immediately receive a reply.