A number of international bands due to play SXSW have been denied entry into the US, as the country's revised immigration laws continue to confuse visitors and tourists in the wake of Trump's executive orders.
The confusion with visas is a hot topic at the moment, with many artists unsure and unaware that the visa waiver program (ESTA) does not allow you to play any shows outside of the official SXSW showcases. Visa confusions have troubled artists heading to SXSW for years but with the spotlight shining brighter on the issue now more than ever, reports about the treatment of detained artists is indicating an increase in severity of the deporting process.
As Pitchfork reports, Italian act Soviet Soviet, London band United Vibrations, Danish producer ELOQ and Canadian/Egyptian heavy metal band Massive Scar Era have all been turned away from the US, and in the case of Soviet Soviet and ELOQ, were handcuffed and placed in a prison before they were sent on a flight back home.
Soviet Soviet took to Facebook to state that immigration officials in Seattle "took our digital fingerprints and took mugshots of us for their file", as well as "confiscated our cell phones" and "denied the possibility of contacting our families and loved ones".
"Around 10:30pm, two prison officers frisked us, handcuffed us and brought us to jail in a police car. We spent the night in jail and had been escorted there as though we were three criminals. The following day, after having completed all jail-related procedures (mugshots, declaration of good health and signatures), two other agents came to get us. We were searched, handcuffed and again escorted in a police car," the band write.
ELOQ also detailed that he had been "denied entry even though [he] was informed by sxsw [he] had the right visa".
craziest 24 hrs ever. Not going to SXSW, but back to Denmark. I been denied entry. even though i was informed by sxsw i had the right visa
— DIAMONDS OUT NOW (@yo_ELOQ) March 13, 2017
@yo_ELOQ ive been handcuffed and detained in a small very bright room plus a very unpleasant jail cell for 23 hours.. thats a first!
— DIAMONDS OUT NOW (@yo_ELOQ) March 13, 2017
As NPR writes, if an artist is seeking to play gigs outside of SXSW's official showcases, they require a working O or P visa, where it must be proved that an "artist's importance to American business or cultural interests is deemed to outweigh their threat to labor interests".
Massive Scar Era were also seemingly told they carried wrong visas (they had the B-1 visa), though they state on Facebook, "My passport (Egyptian) could've been the issue. Our bassist is first nation! He is allowed to get in and work in the USA whenever he wants to, the officer told him that his official first nation card (released by the Canadian government) doesn't prove he is first nation and he needs to get DNA test (lol) he told him that he did this already to get the card in the first place! RIP USA SXSW."
The band's Cherine Amr also told The Fader, "The officer told me, 'I don't mind you playing your shows, I mind you playing SXSW under a B-1 visa,'" Amr said. "When he said that the festivals were being used as protests, I knew this is because of my skin color, my accent, my background, it's not about the visa. It was brutal."
United Vibrations wrote that their deportation was because their "ESTA’s have been revoked under the new Executive order", however it's currently unclear whether the band were playing non-SXSW showcases and thus required an O or P visa. The Londoners question whether racism came into play here: "Why weren’t we let in? our Names? the Music? The colour of our skin?"
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