Friday, March 11, 2011

Master, Lightning Swords of Death Tour Cancelled Due to Immigration Issue

Two of my interests coincide: immigration and metal. According to the official press release:
Death metal legends Master, who were scheduled to kick off their long-anticipated U.S. headlining tour earlier this week with support from Lightning Swords Of Death and Mobile Deathcamp, were denied entry into the country and forced to return to the Czech Republic.

Said Master mainman Paul Speckmann in a statement: "We arrived Tuesday morning in Holland and after intense questioning we proceeded to the eye and body scan machine. Along with the other passengers, we proceeded to the plane. We arrived in Detroit and went to passport control. I waited for about two hours for any word on the guys. The police came to explain that the visa waiver program didn't apply to musicians. So they sent me to customs and proceeded to tear apart everything and sent me on my way. I waited for six hours to get on another airplane and return to Europe. Thankfully the lady at the Delta checkout counter was very helpful and confirmed that the guys would be on the next plane in the evening and I could return with them. The guys were escorted to the plane by four police officers and returned their passports when we arrived in Amsterdam. Since when are musicians and terrorists in the same category? Again I apologize to all the bands, organizers and fans of course. I guess the CD cover of the Human Machine CD has become a reality!"
OK guys, you've got to get your shit together. You'd think immigration law would have to be one of the things you think about before booking a tour in a country where you don't have citizenship. It's not that complicated: the visa waiver program is for tourism only, more or less. You can't perform. So, I guess I'm not going to the show that was supposed to be on Sunday. You dumbasses.

4 comments:

  1. I'm bugged by this too. I was planning on going to the Columbus show.

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  2. The weirdest thing is that I am pretty sure Paul is originally from the U.S. Master started out in Chicago.

    Ah, immigration law. I am having a lot of fun with this area right now. Thank you very much, Padilla v. Kentucky. Now, I have to know a bunch of immigration law consequences for criminal violations in order to effectively advise my clients instead of just telling them to seek out an immigration attorney.

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  3. Yeah, I think that case was decided dead wrong. It essentially makes it easier for a non-citizen to get off than a citizen. And I can't tell you how many times I've suspected that charges have been reduced or dismissed simply based on the argument that they might have immigration consequences. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

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  4. Yeah, and my goal as a criminal defense attorney is actually to try and get them reduced for that reason. I have had some success.

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