Southside TDs have criticised the Trump administration for new restrictions on J1 visas.
Labour leader and Dublin Bay South TD Ivana Bacik went viral last week for holding up a meme which depicts a bald version of US Vice-President JD Vance.
Bacik held up the meme and submitted it to the Dáil record as an example of how restrictive America’s immigration policy has become since the second Trump administration took office in January.
Last week, the story of a Norwegian tourist being denied entry to the United States after the meme was found on his phone at customs made the rounds.
The actual details of the story – Norwegian tourist Mads Mikkelsen (no relation to the Danish James Bond actor ) – reveal that upon landing at Newark Airport in New Jersey, Mikkelsen was asked to unlock his phone or face a fine or prison time.
Immigration agents checked Mikkelsen’s phone and found the offending meme, along with a photo of a pipe.
In a move to control the narrative, the Department of Homeland Security, which handles immigration affairs in the United States, claimed that Mikkelsen was denied entry into the United States for drug usage.
Mikkelsen, for his part, said he had tried marijuana but felt it wasn’t relevant to mention it to American immigration authorities, under the assumption that marijuana was legal at the federal level in the country.
However, the unintentional Streisand Effect by the Department of Homeland Security has led to the story growing legs, and ultimately, being mentioned in the Dáil chamber.
To prove a point about the absurdity of the situation, Bacik produced a photo of a bald JD Vance in the Dáil chamber.
A screencap of Bacik holding up the photo has gone widely viral online and has been reported in international outlets such as Newsweek and one post on the popular subreddit /r/pics has garnered over 110,000 upvotes at time of going to press on Friday afternoon.
Bacik said, “If this authoritarian new US policy wasn’t so utterly draconian, it might be laughable.”
“This new practice appears to demonstrate the fragility of egos within the Trump-Vance Administration. It is extraordinary to see this heightened level of incursion into the freedom of expression of those seeking to travel to the US, including those young Irish people travelling on J1 visas.”
“We have never seen such an approach taken in any Western democracy before – it would have been unthinkable prior to Trump’s election,” Bacik said.
Bacik said that Trump’s crackdown on the J1 visa has “left a sour taste in the mouths of people here in Ireland.”
“Families are greatly concerned over the announcement that students will have to hand over their social media accounts to the US administration on seeking permission to enter the US,” she said.
“We are witnessing a major and utterly unwarranted undermining of freedom of expression principles from the US administration, in particular where they are targeting young people, and the use of humorous memes on their phones.”
Social Democrats TD and education spokesperson Jen Cummins expressed similar concerns, saying the practice “sets a deeply troubling precedent.”
Cummins said the move “undermines personal privacy, freedom of expression, and the longstanding educational relationship between Ireland and America.”
“This policy effectively invites a foreign authority to comb through the private lives and political expressions of Irish citizens. It is invasive, excessive, and incompatible with the values of academic freedom and open exchange that should underpin international education.”
The Dublin South Central TD warned about the “chilling effect” the practice could have on students, noting they may now “feel compelled to censor their opinions or delete their online history to avoid being refused entry to the US.”
“Students should not have to second-guess everything they’ve posted online for fear it will be used against them in a visa interview.”
“President Trump is creating a culture of self-censorship at a time when we should be encouraging critical thinking and democratic engagement,” she said.
Cummins fears that the policy could also have a “disproportionate” impact on marginalised communities and politically active students.
“Social media is a platform for self-expression and activism. Making that expression a test for access to education abroad is profoundly wrong as it risks silencing the very voices we should be empowering.”
“This new requirement does not make anyone safer – it only makes international education less accessible, less fair, and less free.”
Last week, the American Embassy in Dublin said that all future visa applicants will need to show their social media usernames or handles from the last five years on visa applications.
In a statement, the US embassy said “the United States must be vigilant during the visa issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests, and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission.”
“Under new guidance, we will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications,” the Ballsbridge embassy explained.
“To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to ‘public,” they stated.
The move was criticised by Taoiseach Micheál Martin as “excessive.”
“There is an issue around freedom of speech, but it’s more the atmosphere that’s created by these measures, the fear and the anxiety that young people will now experience travelling,” he told reporters.
For his part, local Fianna Fáil TD and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said he disagreed with the Trump administration’s crackdown on social media expression.
He said that while he cannot control the US immigration system, he said the move by the Trump administration is “regrettable.”
“I welcome the fact that the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach have indicated that they think the measures are inappropriate, and will mention it to the US authorities.”
“Hundreds of thousands – probably millions – of Irish people have a great time on J-1 visas.
“They are still doing it this year, they have done it in the past, and I think it will continue into the future,” the Dublin Bay South TD said