Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Welcome to Trump World: New York Gallery Owner Denied Entry Into US

At Chamber NYC

Artnet's Alyssa Buffenstein reports:

Juan Garcia Mosqueda, owner of the Chelsea design gallery Chamber NYC, was inexplicably denied entry to the US on Friday after a trip to his native Argentina, according to an open letter he titled “The Visible Wall” and shared with friends and colleagues yesterday.

Mosqueda, who was sent back to Argentina, explains the “dehumanizing and degrading” experience he was subjected to at the border, including being questioned under oath, denied legal counsel, held without food for 14 hours, prohibited from using any means of communication, and denied privacy when using the bathroom.

His belongings—which he could not access while kept in holding—were searched, and his legal documents were kept from him until he arrived back in Buenos Aires. He was escorted onto the plane by armed officers.

“This thirty-six hour nightmare is nothing but clear evidence of a deeply flawed immigration system in the United States, carried out by an administration that is more interested in expelling people than admitting them,“ he writes.

The curator and gallerist explains he has been a legal resident of the US for ten years, as a student, employee, and proprietor.

“Although I am not an American citizen, Chamber is an American product that I hope adds to the cultural landscape of the country,” he writes.

1 comment:

  1. Alyssa Buffenstein ???
    Let me guess, her sorority nickname was "Buffy".
    So this guy, owning a gallery, probably employs 10 to 12 staff and provided a venue for artists. But not our type of person, right?
    The Trump economic miracle writ small.

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