Lord Buffalo has canceled its European tour after border patrol “forcibly removed” band member Yamal Said, a Mexican citizen, from a flight — despite the drummer being a green-card holder and “lawful permanent resident” of the United States — according to a statement on the Texas band’s Instagram.
With just one day left before their trek had been scheduled to kick off Thursday (May 15) in the Netherlands, the group members wrote in their joint statement that, moments before they’d been supposed to take off for Europe on Monday (May 12), their bandmate was escorted off the plane at at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. “He has not been released, and we have been unable to contact him,” they wrote, noting that they are “heartbroken” to have to cancel the tour as a result.
“We are currently working with an immigration lawyer to find out more information and to attempt to secure his release,” the band continued in the post. “We are devastated to cancel this tour, but we are focusing all of our energy and resources on Yamal’s safety and freedom. We are hopeful that this is a temporary setback and that it could be safe for us to reschedule this tour in the future.”
In an update to the caption posted later Thursday afternoon, Lord Buffalo thanked fans for their “outpouring of support” and shared that Yamal had “secured the legal representation he needs.” “We are waiting to hear what comes next,” the band added. “We want to reiterate that we truly don’t know what’s going on. We have more questions than answers, but we will keep you posted as much as we can. At this time the family asks for privacy as they navigate the situation.”
Billboard has reached out to the band’s reps and the DFW International Airport for comment.
According to Lord Buffalo’s website, the Americana rockers were slated to play eight total dates across Europe. Following their kickoff performance in Heerlen, they’d planned on spending the month of May traveling through cities in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
In the group’s absence, tourmates Orsak:Oslo will still play at all of their scheduled dates. “We urge everyone to go see this amazing band and support them over the next couple weeks,” Lord Buffalo added in its statement.
The announcement comes at a tense time in American immigration politics, with Donald Trump pledging to carry out mass deportations as part of his presidency when he entered office in January. As reported by Billboard, the administration’s policies have had a particular effect on the Latin music industry, with many artists sharing that they’ve seen a distinct drop in attendance levels due to concertgoers fearing deportation.
The twice-impeached POTUS’ crackdowns on travel and immigration have also impacted the trans community. In January, Trump signed an executive order requiring that travel documents such as passports and visas display a person’s sex assigned at birth, after which U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services (USCIS) announced in April that it would only recognize biological sex on immigration forms going forward. As a result, trans musicians — such as Bells Larsen, who was forced to cancel his American shows due to the change — have similarly struggled to tour in the U.S.
See Lord Buffalo’s statement below.
