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SF professor vacuumed into abyss after ICE arrest
Nurse and professor Ann Lawani remains detained in Louisiana after ICE arrest without explanation.
In brief
Nurse and professor Ann Lawani remains detained in Louisiana after ICE arrest without explanation. Ann Lawani, a USF nursing professor, remains in Louisiana ICE detention nearly two months after being arrested without explanation, despite having legal protections against deportation to Nigeria. Originally reported by…
Arrest and initial detention
Ann Lawani, a 39-year-old nurse and professor, was arrested outside her Northern California home on Sept 16 without explanation or warrant.
“She opened her garage after spotting officers on her security camera, only to be arrested by Immigration Customs and Enforcement”
Detention transfer process
ICE transferred Lawani through four facilities starting from Bakersfield, shackling her ankles, waist and hands.
“Over the course of the next few days, ICE agents transferred her through four facilities”
Attorney's struggle to locate
Lawani's attorney Natalia Vieira Santanna said her location did not appear in ICE's system for three days after arrest.
“Her location did not show up the day she was detained. It did not show up the next day or the following day”
ICE policy change
ICE stopped displaying detainee locations in public searches after a Sept 15 policy change, removing 32% of detainees from public searches.
“The database, which previously allowed families and attorneys to find people in federal immigration custody, stopped displaying the whereabouts of most detainees”
Legal status and asylum
Lawani arrived in the US in 2007 on a visitor visa, applied for asylum within a year, and received protection from deportation to Nigeria in 2013.
“In 2013, an immigration judge denied her asylum request but granted her protection from deportation to Nigeria”
University impact
USF nursing program, which Lawani oversees, faces disruptions with 230 students and 51 faculty members affected.
“Her continued absence causes real and mounting harm to the students and faculty who rely on her mentorship”
Court ruling
US District Judge Daniel Calabretta rejected ICE's attempt to move Lawani's case to Louisiana and barred deportation while her petition is pending.
“The judge found that 'no diligent attorney could have known' Lawani's whereabouts when the petition was filed”
Family and political pressure
Lawani's brother condemned her detention as 'EVIL and consequential' and lawmakers demand her release under supervision.
“For someone that vital to the community to be tracked, abruptly vacuumed into an abyss and moved across the country, is simply EVIL and consequential”
The big picture
Ann Lawani, a USF nursing professor, remains in Louisiana ICE detention nearly two months after being arrested without explanation, despite having legal protections against deportation to Nigeria.
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