An Austin-based band was forced to cancel a planned tour in Europe after their drummer was arrested by immigration authorities.
The band, Lord Buffalo, was at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Monday when band member Yamal Said was “forcibly removed from our flight to Europe by Customs and Border [Protection],” according to a statement from the band posted to social media.
UPDATE: Thank you for your outpouring of support it means the world to us. Our drummer has secured the legal…
Posted by Lord Buffalo on Wednesday, May 14, 2025
“He has not been released, and we have been unable to contact him,” the band originally posted. “We are currently working with an immigration lawyer to find out more information and to attempt to secure his release.”
“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,” they added.
The Department of Homeland Security later announced that Said is a Mexican national and a lawful U.S. permanent resident who simply had an arrest warrant for having violated a restraining order twice.
Look:
Yamal Said is a Mexican national and lawful U.S. permanent resident. Said had a warrant for his arrest after violating a restraining order at least TWICE. If you come to our country and break our laws, you will be arrested.
When he was attempting to leave the U.S., he was… pic.twitter.com/y6lg3hDycR
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) May 15, 2025
Austin NPR affiliate KUT, meanwhile, confirmed that Said is now being held at the Tarrant County Corrections Center, a standard jail.
On Wednesday, the band posted an update to Facebook announcing that Said had “secured the legal representation he needs” and that they were “waiting to hear what comes next.”
According to a profile of Said published by Voyage Austin last year, his family relocated to Austin, Texas, in the late 1980s after a devastating earthquake tore through Mexico City.
“My family was looking to make a change, and the relatively flat lands of central Texas must have been appealing after what we had just experienced,” he told the outlet. “Our lives had been completely turned upside-down, overnight.”
In addition to being a drummer, Said also works at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
School Principal Paul Carlson told the Austin Chronicle that Said is “a highly respected and long-serving member of our school community.”
Some of the band’s supporters have claimed that a supposed injustice has been carried out.
“No one should be pulled off a plane and jailed without any information, when simply trying to travel and make art with their band,” the fellow band Orsak:Oslo wrote on Facebook. “We won’t pretend to understand the full complexity of the situation, but this should not happen anywhere.”
We’re devastated by the situation Lord Buffalo and their drummer Yamal have been forced into. No one should be pulled…
Posted by Orsak:Oslo on Wednesday, May 14, 2025
According to Louder, Lord Buffalo had been “set to begin their first-ever run through Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Finland this week with Swedish psych, kraut, post-rock and doom rockers Orsak:Oslo, beginning on May 15 at the Oefen Bunker club in Landgraaf, Holland.”
Critics, on the other hand, have taken to slamming the corporate press, particularly outlets like NBC News and Variety magazine, for either downplaying or completely ignoring Said’s warrant.
Look:
Leaving out part where he violated a protective order two different times, and subsequently had a warrant out for his arrest. @Variety
— RecDawg34 (@RecDawg34) May 15, 2025
A green card holder who authorities discovered had an active arrest warrant for him. He was wanted by the Llano County Sheriff’s Office for violating a protective order against him multiple times, which is a felony in Texas.
— Steve Houser (@Stephen_Houser) May 15, 2025
Another lying article from legacy media. Dude was arrested on a criminal warrant for violation of a protection order, twice. Oh look another immigrant preying on American women. Cope more lefties.
— M (@AI_sucks_alot) May 15, 2025
Even Grok, X’s AI bot, had something to say about the media’s bias regarding this matter.
Look:
@Variety The story about Yamal Said’s detention has some truth but isn’t the full picture. Reports confirm he was detained by CBP on May 12, 2025, and Lord Buffalo canceled their tour. However, mainstream outlets like Variety omit key details—Said had an active warrant for…
— Grok (@grok) May 15, 2025
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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