The War on Porn Regular Updates about the Assault on The Adult Industry
Related Articles
LOS ANGELES — A routine trip to an awards show turned into a life-altering moment for GayVN Award-winner Milo Miles, who was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at a Canadian airport earlier this year and is now barred from entering the United States for at least a decade.
Miles, who ultimately won at the 2026 GayVN Awards, had been traveling to attend and present at the ceremony when he was stopped in January. Despite the win, he cannot return to the United States unless government authorities grant special permission.
The Toronto-based performer, originally from Medellín, Colombia, has built a strong presence in the industry, earning multiple nominations at the 2026 GayVNs and taking home Best Oral Scene as part of an ensemble cast in the Carnal+ Original production Deeper Deep Throat. He moved to Canada with his family as a child, leaving behind a country affected by cartel violence and political instability.
“I was detained in Toronto at preclearance,” Miles said in a phone interview. He had been scheduled to depart from Toronto Pearson International Airport, one of several Canadian hubs where U.S. agents screen travelers before departure.
The preclearance system allows U.S. officers to conduct inspections on foreign soil before passengers board flights bound for the United States, effectively shifting the border to the departure airport.
Miles said that process often involves armed officers and determines whether travelers are allowed entry before they ever leave Canada. Those cleared typically arrive in the United States as domestic passengers, bypassing customs lines. He added, “Being Latino, an adult content creator, I had heard that people had been banned in the past.
“So, I hired immigration lawyers,” he continued. “It was two or three years ago. … They all said the same thing: there’s not really a way” to legally work in the United States doing porn, “unless you marry someone and get a green card.
“It was explained to me like this: ’If a border agent found out that I did porn, that would fall under the category of sex work. And to them, sex work equals prostitution. After Trump got elected, the concern kind of started growing even more about this, I was told.”
Aware of those risks, Miles said he took steps he believed would reduce scrutiny, including enrolling in the NEXUS trusted traveler program, which is designed to speed up border crossings between Canada and the United States.
“I’ve had this for many years now,” Miles said. “It’s supposed to streamline the process of crossing the border because we have to pre-check with Canada, at least at the airport here in Toronto at Pearson. However, especially in the last year, I’ve noticed that whenever I cross, there seem to be more questions than usual being asked, even though it’s normally supposed to be a straightforward process because of the facial recognition software.”
Miles, who holds dual citizenship in Canada and Colombia, lives in Toronto and has frequently traveled to the United States for work, including film shoots and collaborations. He said he spent eight hours over two days at the preclearance station before being told he would be denied entry under allegations tied to unlawful activity.
According to documents issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, Miles was found inadmissible based on claims that he had engaged in prostitution, a conclusion he disputes in the context of his work in adult film production.
The documents include a transcript of questioning in which an officer pressed him on whether his work constituted prostitution, despite distinctions commonly drawn between adult film production and escorting.
Miles acknowledged during questioning that he had previously worked as an escort, describing it as consensual arrangements between adults in which he was compensated for his time.
U.S. law grants border officials broad discretion to deny entry, regardless of a traveler’s history or intended duration of stay.
“You appear inadmissible to the United States … in that you are an alien who is coming to the United States to engage in prostitution or has engaged in prostitution within ten years of the date of application for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status,” the official notice states. “You are currently engaging in prostitution or were coming to the United States to engage in prostitution.”
Miles said his purpose for traveling was to attend the GayVN Awards, but the determination resulted in a ban that will remain in effect until 2036.
“The one thing that I think kept me grounded throughout the whole experience, even though I knew where things were headed, was knowing that I was very thankful that this was happening in Toronto,” he said. “Regardless of what happens at this airport, I’ll still be able to go home and sleep in my own bed and to know that I’ll still have that fundamental freedom that God gave to Canada.
“It’s a very unfortunate thing,” Miles said, referencing his partner, a U.S. citizen, and the disruption to his plans to build a career in the United States. Reflecting on the experience, he added, “It’s more of, like, a psychotic attack. Even though I was clearly dealing with agents who didn’t seem to care about equity, diversity or inclusion, and who came across as homophobic, it wasn’t just about those individuals.
“This appears to be a systemic bias and a broader issue within the department, though not necessarily across the entire federal government,” he concluded.
