The drummer of Texas rock band Lord Buffalo was removed from a flight headed to Europe and detained by immigration authorities on Monday, the band said in social media posts on Wednesday.
Yamal Said was “forcibly removed from our flight to Europe” by Customs and Border Protection at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on Monday, the Austin, Texas, band said in the posts.
Said is a Mexican citizen and, as a green card holder, is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, according to the band.
“He has not been released, and we have been unable to contact him,” the band wrote. “We are currently working with an immigration lawyer to find out more information and to attempt to secure his release.”
Said’s detention prompted the band to cancel its upcoming European tour. “We are heartbroken,” the band wrote.
“We are devastated to cancel this tour, but we are focusing all of our energy and resources on Yamal’s safety and freedom,” a post said. “We are hopeful that this is a temporary setback and that it could be safe for us to reschedule this tour in the future.”
The band said in an update to its posts on Wednesday afternoon that Said had secured legal representation and “we are waiting to hear what comes next.”
“We want to reiterate that we truly don’t know what’s going on,” the band wrote. “We have more questions than answers, but we will keep you posted as much as we can.”
CBP told NBC News on Wednesday that Said “was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday while attempting to depart the United States due to having an active arrest warrant” and was turned over to local law enforcement. The agency confirmed that he is a Mexican citizen and a lawful permanent resident.
CBP did not say what the active arrest warrant was for and referred NBC News to the Dallas-Fort Worth Department of Public Safety for additional details.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Dallas-Fort Worth Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Lord Buffalo also did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the social media posts.
