Professor Says Student Has Been Denied Access to Her Lawyer
Today, an international graduate student from UCLA was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection earlier this week while attempting to reenter the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry. Students and faculty members rallied on campus in support of the student and to demand her return.
Demonstrators began gathering at 5:00 p.m. outside Murphy Hall, home to UCLA administrative offices, calling for the university to intervene and demand the student’s release.
UCLA Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications Mary Osako confirmed the detention in a statement issued to the campus newspaper. “UCLA has learned that an international graduate student was detained by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) while attempting to enter the United States from Mexico,” Osako said. “The student remains in the custody of CBP, and we are actively working to learn more information.”
UCLA has noted in minutes from a meeting between USAC officers and administrators that the administration refused to notify students through a Bruin Alert if ICE officers came on campus and would only notify students after ICE officers had left the campus, as reported by The Daily Bruin. Demonstrators stated that the university must do more to protect its international community, particularly those who are targeted by new federal policies.
Graeme Blair, associate professor of political science, said, “I have to talk to my students who are non-citizens every day, and they are terrified. I’m terrified for them because of the capricious nature of U.S. immigration policy right now. They don’t know when they’re going to be picked up in the middle of the night. They don’t know when they’re going to be forced from their classroom.”, as quoted by CBS News Los Angeles.
Blair added that the student has not been allowed to speak with their attorney, despite the attorney having filed the requisite paperwork.
The demonstration, organized by student groups and faculty members, was fueled by broader concerns over federal immigration enforcement and recent executive orders from the Trump administration. Protesters expressed fears that the detention may be connected to a January order threatening to revoke visas of students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
According to speakers at the rally, at least 19 UCLA students or alumni have had their visas revoked since the Trump administration initiated a crackdown on foreign student visa holders, affecting over 1,000 individuals nationwide. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has moved to revoke student visas, citing a clause in the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows him to cancel visas for anyone who poses a “potential serious adverse foreign policy consequence.”
