--- title: White House “No Comment” on Bieber Deportation Petition description: The Obama administration had 'no comment' on a petition to have Canadian singer Justin Bieber deported from the United States following his recent legal troubles. Almost 275,000 people signed a petition on the White House website in January canonical: https://time.com/68949/white-house-no-comment-on-bieber-deportation-petition/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-18T23:41:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:23:31.174Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House “No Comment” on Bieber Deportation Petition og:description: The Obama administration had 'no comment' on a petition to have Canadian singer Justin Bieber deported from the United States following his recent legal troubles. Almost 275,000 people signed a petition on the White House website in January og:url: https://time.com/68949/white-house-no-comment-on-bieber-deportation-petition/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20b1d7b72bab26ee/69868b6dcd804de3c3cca61a/476685333.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Miami Beach Police Documentation of Justin Bieber's Tattoos og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House “No Comment” on Bieber Deportation Petition twitter:description: The Obama administration had 'no comment' on a petition to have Canadian singer Justin Bieber deported from the United States following his recent legal troubles. Almost 275,000 people signed a petition on the White House website in January twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20b1d7b72bab26ee/69868b6dcd804de3c3cca61a/476685333.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House "No Comment" on Bieber Deportation Petition > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=79c91b94-d401-4198-a04d-0b880c173cf8&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Apr 18, 2014 11:41 PM UTC  In this handout photo provided by the Miami Beach Police Department and released on March 4, 2014, singer Justin Bieber is photographed by police while in custody on January 23, 2014 in Miami Beach, Florida. In this handout photo provided by the Miami Beach Police Department and released on March 4, 2014, singer Justin Bieber is photographed by police while in custody on January 23, 2014 in Miami Beach, Florida. Miami Beach Police Department/Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Apr 18, 2014 11:41 PM UTC After troubled pop star Justin Bieber’s spate of legal troubles earlier this year, the American people petitioned their government to deport the Canadian citizen from the United States. Nearly three months later, they have their response from the Obama administration: no comment. Almost 275,000 people signed a petition on the White House website in January to “[Deport Justin Bieber and revoke his green card](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/deport-justin-bieber-and-revoke-his-green-card/ST1yqHJL).” “Sorry to disappoint, but we won’t be commenting on this one,” the White House wrote in its [response](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/believing-immigration-reform), posted Friday. “The We the People [terms of participation](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/how-why/terms-participation) state that, “to avoid the appearance of improper influence, the White House may decline to address certain procurement, law enforcement, adjudicatory, or similar matters properly within the jurisdiction of federal departments or agencies, federal courts, or state and local government in its response to a petition.” But the White House did use the opportunity to plug its call for comprehensive immigration reform, which remains stalled in Congress. “Independent economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits [by almost $1 trillion](http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/1trillion) in the next 20 years,” the unsigned blogpost states. “For those of you counting at home, that’s 12.5 billion concert tickets—or 100 billion copies of Mr. Bieber’s debut album.” On the substance of the matter, as we [reported](http://time.com/2158/why-we-cant-just-deport-bieber/) in January, Bieber’s multiple alleged offenses are unlikely to warrant deportation. He resides in the United States on an O-1 visa, which is [reserved](http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/o-1-individuals-extraordinary-ability-or-achievement/o-1-visa-individuals-extraordinary-ability-or-achievement) for “individuals with an extraordinary ability in the arts or extraordinary achievement in motion picture or television industry,” and only violent crimes and sentences longer than 1 year would result in a re-evaluation of his visa status. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/68949/white-house-no-comment-on-bieber-deportation-petition/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/68949/white-house-no-comment-on-bieber-deportation-petition/"},"headline":"White House \"No Comment\" on Bieber Deportation Petition","datePublished":"2014-04-18T23:41:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:23:31.174Z","description":"The Obama administration had 'no comment' on a petition to have Canadian singer Justin Bieber deported from the United States following his recent legal troubles. 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