Three artist traveling to Wizards of the Coast ’s headquarters to get together the a la mode Dungeons & Dragons brainstorming seance were reportedly denied entry into the United States and send back to their nursing home countries over issues with their visa discharge .
Over the weekend , legerdemain : The gather artists Anna Steinbauer , Magali Villeneuve , and Titus Lunter — from Austria , France , and the Netherlands , respectively — share reputation of being detained at the Seattle – Tacoma International Airport , also called Sea - Tac , by in-migration officials . They were headed to Wizards of the Coast ’s headquarters in Renton , Washington for a Dungeons & Dragons “ concept pushing , ” or a several - week meeting to bounce melodic theme back and forth for upcoming content . The report first come up on Villeneuve’sTwitterthanks to her husband , who carry concerns about the artists ’ refuge as their telephone , passports , and baggage had been taken away , leaving them cut off from anyone who could help them .
- Alex*Magali was detained at customs duty with some other members of the squad who were to work at WotC.Apparently they wo n’t let them back into the country.they took Magali ’s phone , I could only peach to her for a minute .
— Magali Villeneuve Artworks ( @Cathaoir1)August 26 , 2018
Here ’s Lunter ’s verbal description of what materialise , as he shared onTwitter :
Because of regulations , after six hours of interviewing and look , we were handcuffed and taken , through the drome , to an ICE detainment center 30 moment outside of the drome . Here we were book and agree into our jail cellphone . These are , as you’re able to conceive of , stern and not comfy . There were no bottom but we were leave a blanket and some sanitation utensil . We would spend 11 60 minutes here , we were feed and had approach to water . To me , the whole experience was very traumatizing .
In the morning we were cuffed , put into transport and escorted back to the airport where we would expect in uncertainty about our flight of steps status . Some well-disposed personnel allowed us another phone call to let people make out . After that , we were escorted by police to our gate for our flight and our stuff would be returned to us upon arriver .
io9 reached out to the creative person for additional comment — two of them responded and did n’t like to utter further on the billet . We also attain out to Wizards of the Coast via email with interrogation about what happen . The company directed us to a statement it made through its conjuration : The GatheringTwitteraccount , pronounce it ’s in contact with the illustrators and that they will continue to work on Magic and Dungeons & Dragons . And in a statement to the blogHipsters of the Coast , Villeneuve confirmed that maven of the Coast have been process with her and the others to address the issue , and does n’t call up the companionship should shoulder the blame over what transpire :
[ Wizards of the Coast ’s ] people are working firmly to help us out . The anteriority for them ( and that makes me happy and comforted ) is not to give a public explanation : It is to do whatever they can so our careers wo n’t have to suffer from US borderline ’ extreme ways of dealing with people from the exterior . They are apprehensive for us , many of them are good friends and they understand all the result of what come about at Sea - Tac . We need help and they ’re giving it .
I wish the [ Dungeons & Dragons ] community of interests would have other use of its own strength than creating drama like “ The huge caller doing nothing for the poor petty illustrators . ” This is not what ’s happening .
The ESTA visa does not guarantee admission — that ’s something U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers determine upon arrival . One condition of eligibility for an ESTA visa discharge is that you could not be pay by an American company for work while you ’re there . you may attend business get together , but can not do any paid oeuvre . There ’s no ratification whether the artists were being paid for their involvement in the Dungeons & Dragons concept thrust — we require Wizards of the Coast about this , but they did n’t respond to our interrogation — but here ’s adescriptionof a concept push by older prowess managing director Richard Whitters , from a 2017 audience in Forbes :
We do , I guess , in all probability three or four a yr , concept thrust , where we bring in two to four artist . For a three week period , we basically just jam on whatever the affair is that we ’re currently working on . We just attempt to visually research all the different ideas . And like I said , we ’re seek to push it , push the boundaries of it , and say , “ Does this work here ? Does this not work here ? ”
It does seem possible that some frame of compensation was involve , or that other matters of the contract bridge negotiation fell into what Lunter called the “ grey area ” of what in-migration official deemed unacceptable for a visa discharge . But the situation is also certainly connected to the Trump administration’shawkish enforcementof immigration policy , which has point everyone fromundocumented familiesseeking to fly force topeople try on to enter the country de jure . The insurance policy may not have change , but their software has .
Lunter , Steinbauer , and Villeneuve are all back safe in their home countries , but Lunter said on Twitter that each of them had their ESTA eligibility permanently canceled . This means that , if they ever desire to return to the United States , they will have to apply for full visa .
Updated with responses from two of the artists and Wizards of the Coast .
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