A man who visited the United States from Norway claimed that he was refused entry into the country after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection found an unflattering meme of Vice President JD Vance on his cellphone.
In an interview with Norwegian publication Nordlys, via British tabloid The Daily Mail, 21-year-old man Mads Mikkelsen, no relation to the actor of the same name, said ICE detained him upon entering the country via New Jersey's Newark Airport on June 11. "They asked questions about drug trafficking, terrorist plots, and right-wing extremism totally without reason," he said.
Mikkelsen claimed that authorities demanded he give the password to his cellphone or he would face a $5,000 fine or five years behind bars. When they went through his phone, he said they discovered a popular meme of JD Vance Photoshopped, showing him with rounder cheeks and a bald head like some sort of nightmarish bearded baby. He said that after the interrogation, he was sent back to Norway.
But it appears as though ICE and Homeland Security are denying Mikkelsen's claims, and said he was sent home for a different reason.
What has ICE said?
Operating under the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Mikkelsen wasnn't deported over the meme. "Mikkelsen was refused entry into the U.S. for his admitted drug use," ICE clarified. "Only those who respect our laws and follow the rules will be welcomed into our country."
What has Homeland Security said?
In a tweet shared via her X, formerly Twitter, account on Tuesday, June 24, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin denied Mikkelsen's claims.
"BS," she wrote. "Claims that Mads Mikkelsen was denied entry because of a JD Vance meme are FALSE. Mikkelsen was refused entry into the U.S. for his admitted drug use."
What's the deal with all these JD Vance memes anyway?
Earlier this year, a number of increasingly absurd and grotesque edits of an unflattering photo of the Vice President went viral on social media. It started with the image that can be seen above, and got more and more bizarre as the trend continued. Forbes reported on the phenomenon earlier this year, and noted it all kicked off after Republican Congressman Mike Collins edited a photo of Vance to make him appear more chiseled and masculine.
The response from the internet? Do the complete opposite, make Vance look like a bloated child with a lollipop.