Strip searched, interrogated: GC model deported from US
A Gold Coast model has shared the moment she was detained by the US government and deported back to Australia after spending almost two days in a cell “feeling like a prisoner”.
Gold Coast model and OnlyFans creator Mikaela Testa shared a series of Tiktok videos to her 2.3 million followers on Thursday evening which explained what happened when she was deported back to Australia for violating her ESTA.
An ESTA is required for Australian citizens visiting the US if they plan to arrive by air, land or sea.
Ms Testa said she flew 20 hours from Perth to Los Angeles and, once officers scanned her passport, she was detained.
Ms Testa said the officers told her she had “no rights” while she was detained and was unable to ask for her lawyer.
“They can seize your devices forever,” she said.
Ms Testa said one of the officers began asking her questions about her friends in LA and what they did for work.
“I was in the room for hours,” she said.
Ms Testa said the officer asked why she had not put her job as Onlyfans on her ESTA
“I did my ESTA years ago and I wrote my employment down as self-employed because in Australia all Onlyfans people write that.”
Ms Testa said the officer asked if she had ever collaborated with anybody within the US.
“I said no ma’am,” she said. “10 minutes later she said that I lied to her face and pulled up a Twitter photo and it’s me, you know not wearing any (top) with a bunch of girls from the US.”
Ms Testa explained the photo was taken in a different country.
“It was that moment I was sent to the room where they hold people that aren’t there for good things,” she said
Ms Testa said she was taken into a room where she was strip searched and had to sleep on a chair. S she was then notified she was going to be deported and was taken to the plane in a “metal” car.