Former SI swimsuit model denied U.S. entry

Via CNN.com

MIAMI, Florida (AP) — Former Sports
Illustrated swimsuit model May Andersen, accused of hitting a flight
attendant on a plane from Amsterdam to Miami, was refused entry into
the U.S. on Monday, officials said.

Andersen, 23, will be
returned to the Netherlands on the next available flight, said U.S.
Customs and Border Protection spokesman Zachary Mann.

The model,
who has appeared in SI’s swimsuit edition and posed for Victoria’s
Secret, was charged with assault after allegedly becoming unruly and
violent on the flight last Thursday. She was held in the Miami-Dade
County jail and then moved to federal immigration custody.

Mann
said Andersen was seeking to enter the U.S. under the visa waiver
program, which permits some visitors to enter without visas. His agency
on Monday determined that Andersen was “inadmissible” under that
program.

The specific reasons for the denial were not provided because of federal privacy protections.

Andersen
was charged with simple battery, resisting arrest without violence and
disorderly intoxication. It was not immediately clear Monday how the
immigration decision would affect that case.

Her attorney in Miami did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.