An award-winning Australian comedian, Alice Fraser, has canceled a planned trip to the United States after receiving legal advice that her past jokes about the Trump administration could prevent her from entering the country.
Fraser, who has performed on Australia’s ABC and the BBC, and toured internationally, was set to visit New York in early May to promote her newly published book. She had planned to apply for an O-1B visa, which allows individuals with “extraordinary ability” in the arts to live and work in the US. However, after hearing about travelers being denied entry and detained, Fraser sought guidance from an immigration lawyer.
“I asked [the lawyer] a question I thought was ridiculous,” Fraser said. “I do political satire and have jokes about Elon Musk and Donald Trump. I wondered if this could be a risk.” She was told it could be, as US authorities are increasingly scrutinizing social media profiles during the vetting process.
Fraser, who is a mother of two, said she was not willing to risk being detained or hassled, especially with her children. “If I didn’t have two kids, I might take the chance, but the idea of being held up with a baby is too much,” she explained.
Fraser’s decision highlights growing concerns about US border scrutiny, where social media activity is increasingly being used to assess travelers. According to immigration law group Reeves, US authorities are increasingly turning to social media to gather information on foreign visitors, including their associations and potential security concerns. In some cases, travelers have had their devices searched or been denied entry, like a French scientist who had critical messages about Trump on his phone.
Fraser has been a frequent critic of Trump, contributing to political podcasts and radio shows. In 2020, she stated, “I wouldn’t take an IOU from Trump if he wrote it on the money he owed me.”
She recently performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as part of the political podcast A Rational Fear, which featured a segment on evading deportation.
Having previously lived and worked in the US on an internship visa over a decade ago, Fraser now faces uncertainty over the risks of traveling. “The US used to seem stable in terms of freedom of speech, but now it feels unpredictable,” she said. “People on the margins are being discouraged, and that’s disappointing. You lose the voices from the edges.”
Travelers are reminded by Smartraveller, which provides advice from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, that holding an ESTA or visa does not guarantee entry to the US. Customs and Border Protection has wide powers to detain or deport individuals if they refuse to comply with requests to inspect electronic devices or social media accounts.
Fraser emphasized that she would continue to make political jokes but only wants to return to a US that welcomes her. “I will go to the America that will have me when it’s no longer reasonable for a lawyer to advise me to purge my social media because a joke about Elon Musk might be seen as hostile,” she said.
