What we know about the deportation of an Iranian Northeastern student

An Iranian student who had obtained a visa to attend Northeastern University was blocked from entering the country and deported from Logan Airport Monday night, despite a court order that he be held pending a Tuesday court hearing, his lawyers say.

At the hearing Tuesday, Judge Richard Stern said there was nothing he could do for 24-year-old Mohammad Shahab Dehghani Hossein, according to WHDH.

Attorneys say he’s not in Iran and could come back. The judge says he has no authority to order the student back and refuses to do so. He adjourns the hearing.

— Jonathan Hall (@JHall7news) January 21, 2020

Hossein’s lawyers allege that officials with Customs and Border Protection deported the Northeastern student on Monday night despite receiving an order that he remain until the hearing.

One of his attorneys, Susan Church, said Sen. Ed Markey’s office determined the student, who is an Iranian citizen, was deported just after 10 p.m. when the order for him to be held came in just before 9:30 p.m.

UPDATE: JUDGE ORDERED client to remain in the US at 9:27 p.m. According to @SenMarkey office, he was removed from the US at 10:03 p.m. CBP officers told MULTIPLE attorneys that he was removed from the plane at 9:30/9:40 p.m. THEY LIED . The Federal Judge will handle this now

— Susan Church (@SusanBChurch11) January 21, 2020

Hossein landed in Boston on Sunday with the aim of taking up his studies at Northeastern when he was taken into custody, detained, and the student visa that had been issued to him was revoked by CBP without explanation, according to the emergency petition filed on his behalf.

“It is unclear why [CPB] would now decide, after conducting a full visa issuance process, that Plaintiff’s student visa should be revoked,” the emergency filing states. 

Shahab is a student with dreams to continue his studies in the US. We demand that @CBP let him in!#dontdeportstudents pic.twitter.com/c567GXx8F0

— ACLU Massachusetts (@ACLU_Mass) January 21, 2020

CPB declined to comment on the case in a statement to The Boston Globe.

“CBP officers are charged with enforcing not only immigration and customs laws, but they also enforce over 400 laws for 40 other agencies and have stopped thousands of violators of U.S. law,” a spokesman told the newspaper.

Hossein was due to study economics at the university, according to MassLive, and had been attending UMass Boston before transferring to Northeastern. He had been in the U.S. for two years when he returned to Iran to visit family and had reapplied for the student visa after his acceptance to Northeastern, to start in the 2018-2019 academic year.

He had been due to start his studies at Northeastern in 2019 but was already forced to delay because the “student visa process took so long,” his lawyers wrote in the petition.

“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 the Globe.

“We are aware that a Northeastern University student who is an Iranian citizen has been denied entry to the United States,” Northeastern said in a statement. “Northeastern welcomes thousands of international students and supports them with an array of resources. We have been in touch with federal officials to learn more about this case and to provide our student with the appropriate assistance to facilitate a successful return to Northeastern.”

More than 50 protesters crowded the international arrivals gate at the airport on Monday night to protest the student’s detention, according to the Globe.

“Students’ dreams matter”

Are you listening @CBP @BostonLogan ?! 👂 pic.twitter.com/XWm7TdDL3k

— ACLU Massachusetts (@ACLU_Mass) January 21, 2020

Politicians, including Rep. Joe Kennedy and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, joined in expressing dismay over the detention and called for him to be released.

“Turning away those who make this nation a better place is no way to govern,” Kennedy wrote. “This president treats every immigrant as a terrorist — that’s not what this nation was founded upon. Let him stay.”

Turning away those who make this nation a better place is no way to govern.

This president treats every immigrant as a terrorist—that’s not what this nation was founded upon. Let him stay. https://t.co/zCuZMa7P8H

— Joe Kennedy III (@joekennedy) January 21, 2020

Shahab Dehghani is an Iranian student with a valid F1 visa, returning to finish his education. CBP already held him overnight. His deportation must be halted, and we must fight the Trump administration's xenophobic policies. https://t.co/ZCKVo5fwvM

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 21, 2020

Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, issued a statement of support for Hossein and his attorneys, saying the group is “working closely with them to ensure due process and justice for students with valid visas to come study in Massachusetts.”

Statement from our Executive Director, Carol Rose @SusanBChurch11
👇 pic.twitter.com/RiDEdQK2Q9

— ACLU Massachusetts (@ACLU_Mass) January 21, 2020

The student’s attorneys said in court Tuesday that the 24-year-old had not yet reached Iran, but was in France on a layover, according to WHDH.

“We feel this is a pattern of Customs and Border Protection ignoring court orders and ignoring the law,” Kerry Doyle, one of the attorneys representing him, told reporters after the hearing.

Hossein’s lawyers have said he was not given a reason for why he was blocked from entering the country and CBP did not allow him to speak with his attorneys directly while in custody.

“We feel the Iranian community has been unfortunately targeted, it appears, because we’re hearing many reports, especially at the Boston port of entry, of Iranian students and other individuals being subjected to increased and severe interrogation at secondary inspections,” Doyle said Tuesday after the court hearing, according to MassLive.

WBUR reports that Hossein’s attorneys plan to file another motion on the student’s behalf with Judge Allison Burroughs, who issued the initial stay on the 24-year-old’s deportation.