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25th June 2025
01:56pm BST
Mads Mikkelsen (21) was travelling to the States to visit friends in New York and Texas, but his trip was cut short when he was instead met with 'harassment and abuse of power'.
The Norwegian tourist was allegedly refused entry to the United States and was subjected to interrogation by ICE agents after finding a JD Vance meme on his phone.
Mikkelsen explained his situation to Norwegian news outlet Nordlys, describing his treatment by US immigration officials as "harassment and abuse of power".
He said: "I felt prejudiced, suspected and simply humiliated even then, in front of many other people at the airport.
They took me to a room with several armed guards, where I had to hand over my shoes, mobile phone and backpack," per Express.
The young Norwegian was grilled about his intentions in the US, with officers not shying away from personal questions: "They asked direct questions about drug smuggling, terrorist plans and right-wing extremism, completely without reason," he added.
"They demanded full information about everyone I was going to meet in the US, including name, address, phone number and what they did for work," Mads explained.
This intense investigation follows a strict clampdown by US Customs and Border Protection, implemented shortly after Trump's re-election, enabling officers to inspect travellers' phones.
Back in March, a French scientist was denied entry to the US after border officials discovered texts criticising Donald Trump on their phone.
Mikkelson goes on to say that 'they threatened him with a minimum fine of $5,000 or five years in prison if he refused to provide the password to his phone.'
After examining Mikkelsen's phone, Mads was informed he wouldn't be let into the US due to two images deemed objectionable by the officers.
One was a meme of JD Vance with a bald, egg-shaped head, which was widely shared on social media in March. Even the Vice president himself had posted a version of the meme on his socials.
The second photo showed Mads holding a wooden pipe he had made himself years ago.
"Both pictures had been automatically saved to my camera roll from a chat app, but I really didn't think that these innocent pictures would put a stop to my entry into the country," the 21-year-old explained.
Mikkelson told Nordlys that he tried to explain that both photos were just harmless jokes, but there was no room for rebuttal. He alleges that he endured a strip search and was forced to undergo blood tests, facial scans, and fingerprinting, per Express.
"Later I was taken back in, and the situation got even worse. I was pushed up against a wall and was strip-searched with a lot of force. They were incredibly harsh and used physical force the whole time," he stated. "I felt completely devastated and broke down, and was close to crying several times. I was on the verge of panic. It felt like I was a terrorist suspect where I was sitting. I tried to pull myself together several times, but in the end, I just wanted to get home again."
Mads looked back on how he was locked up for another five hours after the interrogation. He was denied food and water and was forcibly sent back to Oslo on the same day he was supposed to begin his holiday.
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