Via Marc “not the Beastmaster” Singer, comes the news that comics scholar Ernesto Priego has been denied entry into the US. He was supposed to present a paper at the International Comic Arts Forum which is going to be held later this year. Marc wondered “what sort of security or immigration risk” Priego posed, personally I doubt there was any real reason for it, other than that somebody in the immigration/border service took a dislike to him for some reason or other. Just a random act of assholery, but as Marc also noted, not a standalone incident: quite a few scholars have been refused entry recently.
The US has long had a reputation for being welcoming to foreign scholars, its universities more than eager to attract top talent from all over the world. Part of the US wealth, scientific and technological prowess is built through the labour of hardworking foreign scientists. If this is changing, if these are now discouraged from coming over, then this can only bode ill for the country. Of course, it may be good for Europe, as all that top talent might come over here…