“Deported for Dissent”: Trump Deported A Substack Writer as The Regime's War On Truth/Media Ramps Up
Substack, Surveillance, and the End of Free Speech at the Border
It’s the kind of story you expect from Turkey, China, or Russia, not the United States of America. Yet here we are.
A 33-year-old Australian writer, Alistair Kitchen, landed at LAX last week expecting a short visit to friends and perhaps a few campus interviews. Instead, he was detained, interrogated, phone-searched, and—after 12 hours of Orwellian questioning—deported.
Why?
Because he dared to write the truth about Donald Trump and the student protests at Columbia University. In his Substack newsletter, Kitchen Counter, Kitchen offered ground-level reporting of the encampments and criticized the state’s brutal response to pro-Palestinian organizers. That apparently put him on a government watchlist.
Kitchen now joins a growing list of journalists, activists, and independent writers targeted under the Trump regime—not for any crime, but for their words.
And if you think that sounds like hyperbole, let’s walk through the facts.
“You’re Here Because of What You Wrote”
According to Kitchen, who recounted the ordeal in Narativ and later interviews, U.S. border agents made no effort to hide their motive. “The reason you have been detained is because of what you wrote online,” one CBP officer reportedly told him. They were especially interested in his Substack dispatches from the Columbia protests—posts critical of the administration, Israel’s war in Gaza, and what he called the “deportation of dissent.”
After hours of grilling, they found their “pretext”: Kitchen had used marijuana (legally) in New York during grad school but answered “no” on a customs form that asked about drug use. And that was all they needed to bar him from the country.
Except it wasn’t about pot. It was about politics.
Kitchen Wasn’t Just Profiled. He Was Pre-Targeted.
Kitchen suspects—and experts agree—he was flagged well before booking his flight. Why? Because his name appeared on a so-called “deportation list” compiled by far-right operatives who fed the names of student protesters and journalists to DHS. One such case, Palestinian Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil, was arrested weeks earlier and paraded by Trump as “the first of many.”
The strategy here is obvious: criminalize dissent, especially when it intersects with immigration. Use minor infractions or technicalities as fig leaves. Then pretend it’s all “just enforcing the rules.”
Sound familiar
PEN America Calls It “Gravely Concerning.” You Should Too.
Kitchen’s deportation drew swift rebukes from press freedom advocates. PEN America condemned the move, warning it “sets a dangerous precedent” for ideological targeting at the border.
Let’s be clear: it doesn’t matter if you agree with Kitchen’s views on Israel, Palestine, Trump, or anything else. The moment we allow government agents to profile and expel journalists for their opinions, we cease to be a functioning democracy.
What happened at LAX wasn’t just unjust. It was unconstitutional. And it sends a chilling message to every independent writer and foreign journalist who dares speak truth to power.
Not an Isolated Case: The Crackdown Is Widening
Kitchen’s experience fits a broader, increasingly authoritarian pattern:
A French scientist was deported after messages critical of Trump’s science policies were found on his phone.
Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student, was arrested under similar pretenses.
A journalist at The Hill was fired after Trump’s team pressured the paper over an unfavorable story.
Reporters from Axios, Politico, and even Voice of America were banned from covering Trump’s 2024 election-night event.
Trump sued and threatened to imprison journalists who exposed uncomfortable truths.
That’s Not All:
Jim Acosta: Press Pass Revoked - Fired By CNN
Remember CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta? In 2018, after pressing Trump sharply in a press conference, the White House revoked his permanent press credentials—calling it “unprofessional” and accusing him of physical misconduct. CNN sued, and a judge ordered his pass returned, citing First and Fifth Amendment protections.
That moment set a historic precedent: The White House cannot revoke a journalist’s credentials without due process—but that didn’t stop the attempt.
Terry Moran: Fired for Calling Trump Aide, Stephen Miller a “World‑Class Hater”
In June 2025, veteran ABC correspondent Terry Moran was suspended—and then fired—after posting on X that Trump and Stephen Miller were “world‑class haters.” Under pressure from the White House, ABC chose to maintain “objectivity” at the cost of one of its most respected journalists. Moran later launched a Substack newsletter with over 90,000 subscribers, staying true to his convictions.
Weaponized Lawfare: Lawsuits and Intimidation
Associated Press was barred from White House events in 2025 after refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” They sued for viewpoint discrimination, and a judge issued a preliminary injunction. apnews.com+2en.wikipedia.org+2en.wikipedia.org+2
CBS News and others have faced defamation lawsuits from Trump—or settled to avoid costly legal battles—creating pressure that chills critical reporting.
From lawsuits to revoking press credentials to border detentions, this is not media criticism—it’s media suppression. A soft fascism enforced not by tanks but by TSA agents, lawsuits, and cowardly newsroom executives.
The Stakes for Substack Writers and Immigration Reform
Alistair Kitchen is part of a new wave of independent journalists who don’t rely on legacy outlets. Writers on Substack, Patreon, YouTube, and indie podcasts have become vital truth-tellers. But that also makes them vulnerable.
No institutional lawyers. No safety net. No corporate backers. And now? No border protection either.
If you’re a writer outside the U.S. with a platform and a political opinion, consider this a warning. The Trump administration has shown it will use immigration law, digital surveillance, and pretextual enforcement to make sure your visa—and your voice—expire on the same day.
What’s even more chilling is that Substack is a refuge and revenue center for reporters and activists who have been chased from MSM by Trump - and now “the Free Speech President” targeting them there.
“Deportation of Dissent” Isn’t a Metaphor Anymore
This isn’t about one writer. This is about whether America remains a place where journalism is a right—or a risk. Where a writer from Melbourne can report on a protest in New York without being interrogated like a terrorist.
And it's about how we respond.
Because Kitchen’s deportation may be a test balloon. If we shrug it off, we signal to the regime that they can get away with more. If we raise hell, we might stop the next Alistair before he gets dragged into a back room and put on a plane.
What You Can Do
Share this story and tag independent journalists: @PENamerica, @cpj, @TheIntercept, @MeidasTouch
Demand your reps investigate DHS and CBP’s surveillance of journalists
Support legal defense funds for targeted writers
Subscribe to newsletters like Kitchen Counter, Public Notice, and Narativ
Refuse to stay silent
Because here’s the truth: what happened to Alistair Kitchen could happen to anyone with a voice and a conscience.
Jim Acosta was a vocal critic of Trump and he voiced his distain with sarcasm and wit. Trump hated him. If Acosta’s press pass were pulled today CNN wouldn’t go to bat for him. In fact it’s the major reason they gave him the choice of a show at midnight few would watch or nothing. We know what Acosta chose. Most of these well known media people were making beaucoup bucks before being forced out. The one exception is Rachel Maddow who is probably the boldest of any of them yet is so popular MSNBC doesn’t dare touch her. Let’s face it. The American media has watered down their Trump coverage greatly from the days Jim Acosta was reporting from the White House. It’s part of the awfulness of what’s happening to our country. Sadly a lone foreign reporter who has no fame is completely on his own if our own US mega media stars have no protection. What is scariest of all of this is the surveillance. I fear for some of those same very vocal and well known people who educate and inform us right here on SubStack alternative media. How long will it be before they become targets of the Trump regime too?
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