Federal agents detain Michigan State graduate student, force his return to Iran

LANSING, Mich. – An Iranian student traveling to East Lansing, Michigan, to start his first week at Michigan State University was forced by federal agents to return to his home country.

Alireza Yazdani Esfidajani, 27, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at Detroit Metro Airport on Sunday afternoon. He was placed on a flight back to Tehran on Monday afternoon.

Esfidajani was accepted as a Michigan State graduate student and scheduled to start this week, university spokesperson Emily Guerrant said. He was to officially enroll when he arrived on campus.

He has a valid student visa and planned to pursue a Ph.D. at Michigan State, his attorney Ghazal Nicole Mehrani said. Sunday was his first time in the USA. He spent it in CBP custody, partially at Monroe County's jail, where he was held from about 1 a.m. to noon Monday. 

A visa does not guarantee entry to the USA, according to an emailed statement from a CBP spokesperson.

"On January 26, Alireza Yazdani Esfidajani applied for entry into the United States, and was later deemed inadmissible, at which time he withdrew his application for admission into the United States," the statement says. "The traveler was not arrested, rather held until a return flight could be arranged to his place of departure."

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The statement did not identify a reason agents denied Yazdani admission into the USA.

Esfidajani told Mehrani and attorney Bradley Maze that federal agents pressured him to sign a form withdrawing his application. Customs agents "pushed him, and they asked questions and questions," then recommended he sign the form, Mehrani said.

"If he has signed a withdrawal of application, there's pretty much no legal remedies," she said. 

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Professor: Student's removal part of trend toward restricted travel

The New York Times reported at least16 Iranian students were detained by customs officials at American airports despite securing visas from the State Department allowing them to study in the USA. 

Deporting or pressuring Iranian students to leave is part of a trend restricting travel from the Middle East country, said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law at Cornell University.

He pointed to the travel ban in 2017 limiting travel from Muslim-majority countries and the increasing tensions between U.S. and Iranian forces after a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in December.

"In the broader contexts, it's just getting harder and harder to come to the United States from Iran," he said.

The State Department thoroughly screens applicants' backgrounds before it issues visas, a process that can take months, Yale-Loehr said.

“Obviously, there can be new facts that come to light between the time a person is issued a visa overseas and when they arrive in the United States that may justify [why] they may not be able to enter, but many times, it seems to be antagonism toward Iranians that prompts [customs] officials to go overboard to try to find excuses to prevent them from entering," he said. 

MSU leaders welcome international students 

The university worked with the student's attorneys and contacted federal officials about the situation. Guerrant issued a statement Monday describing the university's commitment to international students enrolled at MSU.

"We want international students to know we value and welcome them to our campus, and we are committed to global engagement, educating international students and collaborating with partners across the world in higher education efforts," she said. "MSU's international students make tremendous contributions to fueling discoveries and scholarship. Global leadership can only be maintained if talented people from across the globe are encouraged to come here to study and work."

The MSU Graduate Employees Union spread the word about Esfidajani's case and asked federal officials to intervene, Chief Information Officer Darren Incorvaia said.

"We see it as our job to stand up for graduate students at Michigan State specifically but also across the country,” he said. “Whether it’s something that directly is involved with their employment or not, we’re still going to stand up and voice our concerns when things like this happen, especially when, in this case, it directly affects our community."

BBC reporter Bahman Kalbasi reported the student's detention on Twitter on Sunday night.

Follow reporter Carol Thompson on Twitter @thompsoncarolk.

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