An American rock band has been forced to cancel its European tour after its drummer, Yamal Said, was detained by US Customs and Border Protection in Texas.
The band explained in an online post that Said was removed from a plane at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, despite being a legal US resident.
En route to their summer tour before the incident, the band has had no contact with Said for two days.
The drummer is a Mexican citizen but a legal permanent resident of the United States and the holder of a green card.
Said has been a resident of Austin, Texas since the 1980s, according to the Austin Chronicle.
‘We are heartbroken to announce we have to cancel our upcoming European tour,’ the band wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.
‘Our drummer, Yamal Said, who is a Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States (green card holder) was forcibly removed from our flight to Europe by Customs and Border Patrol [sic] at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Monday May 12.
‘He has not been released, and we have been unable to contact him. We are currently working with an immigration lawyer to find out more information and to attempt to secure his release.’
An update to the statement on Wednesday afternoon told fans that the drummer had ‘secured the legal representation he needs.’
‘We are waiting to hear what comes next,’ they said. ‘We want to reiterate that we truly don’t know what’s going on. We have more questions than answers, but we will keep you posted as much as we can. At this time the family asks for privacy as they navigate the situation.’
A stalwart of the Austin music scene, Said formerly played with the band the Black and works as a music instructor for the Texas School for the Blind, according to the Austin Chronicle.
The band was scheduled to go on an eight-date European tour to play and promote their latest album Holus Bolus. The tour, alongside the Swedish band Orsak:Oslo, was scheduled to begin on 15 May in the Netherlands.
In a social media statement, Orsak:Oslo, who will continue with the tour, wrote: ‘No one should be pulled off a plane and jailed for simply trying to travel and make art with their band. We won’t pretend to understand the full complexity of the situation, but this should not happen anywhere.’
Said’s detention is part of a wider immigration crackdown under the Trump administration.
On Monday, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said that the US has deported roughly 139,000 illegal immigrants since Trump returned to the White House.
On April 28, Trump signed an executive order targeting sanctuary cities that have acted like havens for undocumented immigrants and refused to cooperate with the federal government’s moves to arrest them.
The order directs the attorney general and homeland security secretary to publish a list of cities and states that have not complied with federal laws around immigration.
The President also signed executive orders with the aim of expanding ICE’s ability to arrest and detain unlawful migrants on US soil.
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