I Fled the US to Escape the Security State. Instead, It Followed Me.
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Activism
/ February 11, 2026
I Fled the US to Escape the Security State. Instead, It Followed Me.
My recent detention at Heathrow shows that the architecture of state repression knows no borders.
Momodou Taal
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Momodou Taal at a pro-Palestinian encampment at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, Thursday, April 25, 2024.
(Heather Ainsworth / AP)
After I was forced to leave the United States, I thought that my days of being targeted by government security agencies were over. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Just before 9 pm on Wednesday, January 21, I landed at the British Airways terminal at London’s Heathrow Airport. I was flying in from Cairo for what was my fourth visit since I left the US. I was headed to Birmingham. It hadn’t even been a year since I had been forced to leave the United States after sustained political pressure connected to my activism in support of Palestine. I am a British citizen; I assumed that returning to the UK, my “home,” would mean stepping outside the reach of the security state. Instead, within minutes of landing at Heathrow, I found myself back inside it.
I was met immediately after stepping off the plane by three officers in civilian clothing. I hadn’t even reached customs yet. They asked my name and took my passport from me. When I asked why I was being stopped, one of them said bluntly, “You’re being detained under Britain’s terrorism laws.” He went on to explain that, under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, I had no right to remain silent, and that refusing to answer questions could itself lead to a minimum three-month prison sentence.
The irony was hard to miss. I was evidently being stopped for using my voice, and in the moment I most wanted to remain silent, it was the one thing I couldn’t do.
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March 2026 Issue
I was escorted to a processing facility where my phone and laptop were taken, my bags searched, and my body examined. Officers took my fingerprints and palm prints, swabbed my DNA, and photographed me from every angle. One of them told me I could technically refuse, but added that a senior officer could compel compliance at a police station if I did not cooperate. Exhausted from travel and aware of how little choice I really had, I assented.
They offered me a phone call. When they rang a friend, they would say only that I was “safe” but “being detained,” refusing to explain why. The unknown is what caused great anxiety to my friends and family. What was meant to reassure instead caused panic, leaving people close to me imagining the worst while I waited alone in a small, windowless room.
When the questioning …
Who's accountable for the results?
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I Fled the US to Escape the Security State. Instead, It Followed Me.
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Current Issue
Activism
/ February 11, 2026
I Fled the US to Escape the Security State. Instead, It Followed Me.
My recent detention at Heathrow shows that the architecture of state repression knows no borders.
Momodou Taal
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
Momodou Taal at a pro-Palestinian encampment at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, Thursday, April 25, 2024.
(Heather Ainsworth / AP)
After I was forced to leave the United States, I thought that my days of being targeted by government security agencies were over. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Just before 9 pm on Wednesday, January 21, I landed at the British Airways terminal at London’s Heathrow Airport. I was flying in from Cairo for what was my fourth visit since I left the US. I was headed to Birmingham. It hadn’t even been a year since I had been forced to leave the United States after sustained political pressure connected to my activism in support of Palestine. I am a British citizen; I assumed that returning to the UK, my “home,” would mean stepping outside the reach of the security state. Instead, within minutes of landing at Heathrow, I found myself back inside it.
I was met immediately after stepping off the plane by three officers in civilian clothing. I hadn’t even reached customs yet. They asked my name and took my passport from me. When I asked why I was being stopped, one of them said bluntly, “You’re being detained under Britain’s terrorism laws.” He went on to explain that, under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, I had no right to remain silent, and that refusing to answer questions could itself lead to a minimum three-month prison sentence.
The irony was hard to miss. I was evidently being stopped for using my voice, and in the moment I most wanted to remain silent, it was the one thing I couldn’t do.
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
I was escorted to a processing facility where my phone and laptop were taken, my bags searched, and my body examined. Officers took my fingerprints and palm prints, swabbed my DNA, and photographed me from every angle. One of them told me I could technically refuse, but added that a senior officer could compel compliance at a police station if I did not cooperate. Exhausted from travel and aware of how little choice I really had, I assented.
They offered me a phone call. When they rang a friend, they would say only that I was “safe” but “being detained,” refusing to explain why. The unknown is what caused great anxiety to my friends and family. What was meant to reassure instead caused panic, leaving people close to me imagining the worst while I waited alone in a small, windowless room.
When the questioning …
I Fled the US to Escape the Security State. Instead, It Followed Me.
Who's accountable for the results?
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
Log In
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I Fled the US to Escape the Security State. Instead, It Followed Me.
Magazine
Newsletters
Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
Donate
Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
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Current Issue
Activism
/ February 11, 2026
I Fled the US to Escape the Security State. Instead, It Followed Me.
My recent detention at Heathrow shows that the architecture of state repression knows no borders.
Momodou Taal
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Momodou Taal at a pro-Palestinian encampment at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, Thursday, April 25, 2024.
(Heather Ainsworth / AP)
After I was forced to leave the United States, I thought that my days of being targeted by government security agencies were over. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Just before 9 pm on Wednesday, January 21, I landed at the British Airways terminal at London’s Heathrow Airport. I was flying in from Cairo for what was my fourth visit since I left the US. I was headed to Birmingham. It hadn’t even been a year since I had been forced to leave the United States after sustained political pressure connected to my activism in support of Palestine. I am a British citizen; I assumed that returning to the UK, my “home,” would mean stepping outside the reach of the security state. Instead, within minutes of landing at Heathrow, I found myself back inside it.
I was met immediately after stepping off the plane by three officers in civilian clothing. I hadn’t even reached customs yet. They asked my name and took my passport from me. When I asked why I was being stopped, one of them said bluntly, “You’re being detained under Britain’s terrorism laws.” He went on to explain that, under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, I had no right to remain silent, and that refusing to answer questions could itself lead to a minimum three-month prison sentence.
The irony was hard to miss. I was evidently being stopped for using my voice, and in the moment I most wanted to remain silent, it was the one thing I couldn’t do.
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
I was escorted to a processing facility where my phone and laptop were taken, my bags searched, and my body examined. Officers took my fingerprints and palm prints, swabbed my DNA, and photographed me from every angle. One of them told me I could technically refuse, but added that a senior officer could compel compliance at a police station if I did not cooperate. Exhausted from travel and aware of how little choice I really had, I assented.
They offered me a phone call. When they rang a friend, they would say only that I was “safe” but “being detained,” refusing to explain why. The unknown is what caused great anxiety to my friends and family. What was meant to reassure instead caused panic, leaving people close to me imagining the worst while I waited alone in a small, windowless room.
When the questioning …
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