Yamal Said, drummer for Austin-based band Lord Buffalo and a legal U.S. resident, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on May 12 while attempting to depart the country for a European tour, according to a report by the Austin Chronicle.
The band was scheduled to begin an eight-date tour in Europe and was flying out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport when Said, a Mexican citizen with a green card, was “forcibly removed from our flight to Europe by Customs and Border Patrol,” Lord Buffalo wrote in a statement posted to Facebook and Instagram. The band has had no contact with him since the detention and is working with an immigration attorney to locate him and seek his release.
Said has lived in Austin since the 1980s, when his family relocated following the Mexico City earthquake. He teaches music at the Texas School for the Blind and has been active in the city’s music scene for decades, including previous work with the band the Black.
The group canceled its tour to focus on Said’s situation. “We are devastated to cancel this tour, but we are focusing all of our energy and resources on Yamal’s safety and freedom,” Lord Buffalo wrote. Orsak:Oslo, the band scheduled to co-headline the tour, will continue without them.
The Austin Chronicle clarified that while Said previously served as a substitute, he is currently still an instructor at the Texas School for the Blind.
More information is available at lordbuffalo.com.
Photo credit: Alison Narro, via alisonnarrophoto.com
Original reporting by Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle: Read the article.
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