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

LANSING – An Iranian student traveling to East Lansing 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 United States. He spent it in Customs and Border Protection 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 United States, according to an emailed statement from a Customs and Border Protection 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 reads. "The traveler was not arrested, rather held until a return flight could be arranged to his place of departure."

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

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. 

Immigration law professor: MSU student's removal part of trend toward restricted travel

Yazdani's removal from the U.S. follows reports of other Iranian university students' deportations. The New York Times recently reported at least16 Iranian students had been detained by customs officials at American airports despite securing visas from the State Department allowing them to study in the U.S. 

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

He pointed to the 2017 travel ban limiting travel from Muslim-majority countries like Iran and the increasing tensions between United States and Iranian forces after the December assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

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"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 they issue 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 leadership, graduate students advocate for detained international 

The university has 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."

Leadership of the MSU Graduate Employees Union is spreading the word about Esfidajani's case and asking 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.

Contact Carol Thompson at (517) 377-1018 or ckthompson@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @thompsoncarolk.