Hasan Piker doesn’t plan to change a single thing about his tone or his rhetoric in his criticisms of President Donald Trump or the war in Gaza as he blasts out his opinions to 2.8 million followers on Twitch.
Even after he was stopped and questioned by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection while at O’Hare International Airport when he arrived for an event at the University of Chicago earlier this month. In an interview with the Tribune this week, the U.S. citizen and popular left-wing social media influencer described his encounter as intimidation.
Piker said he was asked “targeted” questions about his political beliefs, including his opinions on Trump and Israel. He said he was also asked if he had connections to the militant group Hamas.
“The mainstream response has been fear, and that’s understandable,” Los Angeles-based Piker told the Tribune on Tuesday. “It’s not shocking that … most people are saying that this is completely unacceptable. I’ve even heard from Republicans that they think that this is getting out of hand.”
A CBP official said Piker’s claims that his political beliefs triggered the inspection are “baseless.”
“Our officers are following the law, not agendas,” the official said in a statement. “Upon entering the country, this individual was referred for further inspection — a routine, lawful process that occurs daily, and can apply for any traveler. Once his inspection was complete, he was promptly released.”
Nevertheless, his May 11 experience went viral online, leading to outcry about political expression under the Trump administration and the heightened scrutiny of people entering the country.
Stories from tourists being stopped at border crossings and held for weeks at detention facilities have also grabbed headlines, while Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration and student protests have also increased worries among U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents navigating the last steps to citizenship.
Federal agents appeared to arrest several people inside Chicago’s immigration court earlier this week, and concerns over how to safely discuss the war in Gaza erupted after a Chicago man was charging with fatally shooting two Israel Embassy employees in Washington on Wednesday.
In the midst of public scrutiny, experts from Chicago weighed in on what U.S. citizens and noncitizens should know when going through customs, and what rights they have. Craig Mousin, a faculty member at DePaul University’s law school, said Piker’s account isn’t particularly surprising, given the “abnormal times” in immigration enforcement right now.
“We have an administration that is weaponizing every means it has to stifle dissent and to make people afraid. What we can tell from reports … they are trying to intimidate people, especially those who have voices that would object to their policies,” said Mousin, also an associate minister for immigrant justice at the Wellington United Church of Christ.
‘What do you think about the president?’
Piker, 33, said he flew into Chicago on May 11 from a family vacation in Paris to attend a speaking engagement at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics alongside a New York Times reporter. Piker, called HasanAbi on Twitch, was born in New Jersey. He’s frequently critical of Trump and of Israel and the war in Gaza.
Piker said he had enrolled in Global Entry, a federal program allowing low-risk passengers to travel through customs and passport control quickly. When he got into the Global Entry line, an agent asked him to step aside at the gate. Piker said he wasn’t surprised, especially since he’s heard similar stories from other travelers.
Piker said he was taken past baggage claim to what he described as a “detention area.” He said he sat alongside other travelers, most of whom he doesn’t believe were American citizens, in a waiting area, before being pulled into a separate room for an interview. Piker said an officer asked him “tailored” yet “cordial” questions about a variety of topics, including his thoughts on Trump, the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah and his suspension on Twitch.
“It expanded into basically: What do you think about the president?” Piker said. “That was one of the first moments where I was like, what does this have to do with anything?”
“I told him I don’t like the president, and it’s my right to be able to say that as an American citizen,” Piker added. “It’s ridiculous. I said I don’t like the president because he said he was going to be a peace president and he hasn’t delivered on those promises.”
Up until the last couple of months, Nicole Hallett, a law professor and the director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at U. of C., said it would have been “highly unusual” for someone to be questioned about their political beliefs or support of the president. It’s more common to be questioned on criminal activity, what someone was doing abroad or items found in luggage, she said.
When anyone arrives at a point of entry — whether it’s a land border or an airport — they are required to go through customs in order to enter the country, Hallett said. The process of entering the country can differ somewhat, however, depending on someone’s citizenship status, she said.
U.S. citizens have guaranteed access to the country, she said. CBP officers can search luggage to check for contraband or to ask questions. Citizens can also choose to not answer the questions, “asserting your right to remain silent,” Hallett said. They can also ask for an attorney.
“In that way, you still have the same rights as someone who’s inside the United States,” she said.
Green-card holders have more rights than most noncitizens, in that if the government wants to strip their green card status, removal proceedings in immigration court are required, Hallett said. Travelers with temporary visas, common among students or tourists, can be denied for any number of reasons, including refusing to answer officers’ questions, she added.
Mousin, from DePaul, said he recommends that green-card holders talk to an immigration attorney before traveling overseas.
“You want to not give them grounds for holding you in a secondary inspection or perhaps trying to put you in immigration proceedings,” he said.
Released after two hours
Piker said he decided to continue the interview because he wanted to see what the officers would ask. If they would have asked for his phone or laptop, he said he would have asked for a lawyer. He said he was released after about two hours.
“Given the immense privilege that I have as a public persona who has a decent amount of financial security, I wanted to use that to see what the line of inquiry looked like. … I don’t recommend this to anyone else,” Piker said.
Customs officers are allowed to search electronic devices regardless of a person’s citizenship status, and they don’t have to have probable cause that someone has committed an offense, Hallett said. U.S. citizens can’t be denied access to the country if they refuse to hand over a device’s password, though, she said.
“You are not required to give your password, and the reason is because that’s speaking, and you have the right to remain silent,” Hallett said. “However, they can make you use your face or your fingerprint to open your phone, because that’s not speech.”
According to CBP’s website, less than 0.01% of arriving international travelers experienced a search of their electronic devices in 2024. They said these searches are used to “identity and combat” terrorist activity, drug smuggling and more.
Overall, Piker described the process as a “nuisance” and “annoying,” but not necessarily scary. He said he isn’t doing anything illegal, and will continue his political commentary as usual. He said he does worry, however, about the administration undermining the First Amendment.
“Think twice before you say something right, like that’s what I think is the ultimate goal of detentions like this and interrogations like this,” he said. “I wanted to be another point of firsthand account, firsthand testimony, to what they are doing, so that people are aware and they’re ready for something like this.”
Piker also said he finds it interesting that CBP acknowledged the inspection while denying that it had anything to do with his political beliefs. He said he believes it speaks to the administration’s hesitancy to “come across as biased and persecuting people for their political opinions.”
“I still say to people they should not be discouraged, they should not be scared and they should keep speaking the truth,” Piker said. “They should not shy away from speaking truth to power, especially those with the privilege of being American citizens.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting.