Student Union
- By Aline Barros
Iranian Student Denied Re-Entry to US
An Iranian student returning to university in Boston was denied entry to the United States and sent out of the country, immigration lawyers said.
Mohammad Shahab Dehghani Hossein, a 24-year-old undergraduate student at Northeastern University, arrived on a flight into Boston International Logan Airport on Monday with a valid student visa, but was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
Lawyers filed an emergency petition Monday night to allow him re-entry to attend college, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts. The U.S. District Court in Massachusetts issued an order allowing Dehghani to stay in the U.S. until a hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.
But CBP put him on a flight out of the U.S. Monday night.
Kerry Doyle, one of Dehghani's lawyers, said CPB acted after the order was issued to allow the student to stay in the U.S. They say he is waiting in Paris.
Dehghani's "expedited removal is a result of additional scrutiny targeting Iranian citizens," and is not "based on legitimate concerns of Plaintiff's admissibility to the United States," his attorneys argued in court filings.
"As such, it violates equal protection guarantees against discrimination based on national origin, constitutional due process guarantees, and the Administrative Procedure Act," wrote his attorneys, who include Kerry Doyle, Susan Church and lawyers from Americans for Civil Liberties (ACLU).
Like most of the more than 1 million international students in the U.S., Dehghani's student F-1 visa was issued by the U.S. Department of State and administered by agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
"He went through an extensive processing period before he came back, which means that overseas investigators investigate his family, they speak to employers, they do a very thorough investigation," Church told reporters outside the courthouse.
"It is unclear why Defendants would now decide, after conducting a full visa issuance process, that Plaintiff's student visa should be revoked," Doyle said in the filing.
At Tuesday's hearing, Doyle argued that Dehghani had not boarded his flight when the order was issued and should be returned to the U.S.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns said the case was moot and out of his jurisdiction because the student was no longer in the U.S.
Dehghani's attorneys disputed the judge's ruling, and say they are weighing Dehghani's legal options.
Attorneys complained that customs officials in Boston have a "pattern" of ignoring court orders, such as removing people from the U.S. despite legal injunctions.
At least 10 students have been sent back to Iran upon arrival at U.S. airports since August 2019, the ACLU said. Seven had flown into Logan airport.
"In America, nobody is above the law — including Customs and Border Protection officials. … We are looking at all options to hold CBP accountable for wrongfully deporting Iranians and other students who hold valid visas," Carol Rose, executive director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in a statement.
CBP told the Guardian newspaper in a Jan. 14 article that "it was not at liberty to discuss an individual's processing, and that it prohibits profiling on the basis of race or religion." It added that the agency "is operating with an enhanced security posture."
'Maximum pressure' campaign
Earlier in January, reports indicated that the Trump administration would be expanding its much litigated travel ban that restricts travel and immigration from five majority-Muslim nations: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as Venezuela and North Korea.
In September, President Donald Trump declared an entry ban to "restrict and suspend" the ability of "senior government officials of Iran and their immediate family members" to enter the U.S. as immigrants or nonimmigrants. The president called it a "maximum pressure" campaign to push Iran to end perceived malign behaviors.
Northeastern University released a statement saying it has reached out to federal officials to try to help Dehghani.
"Northeastern welcomes thousands of international students and supports them with an array of resources," the university said in a statement. "We have been in touch with federal officials to learn more about this case and to provide our students with the appropriate assistance to facilitate a successful return to Northeastern."
See all News Updates of the Day
San Diego school requires course in climate change
If you want an undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego, you’re going to have to take a course in climate change.
The requirement, which affects students who will graduate in 2028, is meant to prepare students for the future, according to a report by ABC News. (October 2024)
‘Study away’ programs in the US can provide enrichment opportunities
While studying abroad can expose students to new cultures and experiences, researchers are finding that domestic ‘study away’ programs can be helpful as well.
Some students, including those on an international visa, may not be able to study abroad, but they can travel to other locations in the U.S. for enrichment experiences, Ashley Mowreader writes in Inside Higher Ed. (October 2024)
Fewer students disclose race in applications to top colleges
FAfter the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action in college admissions last year, fewer students are disclosing their race or ethnicity in applications to top colleges.
Writing in USA Today, Zachary Schermele notes that the data is preliminary, but it could signal a change in the way students are approaching college applications. (October 2024)
Overall college enrollment is up, first-year enrollment down
For the second year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, college enrollment has climbed in the United States.
But the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center noticed a substantial drop in the number of freshmen, which could be troubling for future enrollment, according to a report in Forbes. (October 2024)
South African universities embrace AI, seeing it as equalizing tool
The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT has sparked debate in higher education, raising questions about ethics and integrity in teaching, learning and knowledge creation. In South Africa, some academic institutions are taking a proactive approach, integrating AI into their curricula. Experts say this step is not only innovative but also helps level the playing field among students. Zaheer Cassim reports from Johannesburg.
