A growing number of Iranian students are being detained, interrogated and deported by US authorities upon arrival at American airports.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club(YJC)_The New York Times has published interviews with some of them, many of whom had secured admission to some of the world’s most prestigious universities.
According to the paper, at least 16 Iranian students have been turned back since August, despite having valid visas which they had obtained after a notoriously grueling, months-long vetting process.
When the students reached American airports, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers disagreed and sent them home, some with a five-year ban on reapplying to return to the United States, it said.
Most say they were not told why they were deemed "inadmissible" — a broad label that customs officers have wide discretion to apply.
"What the students do know is that, at a time of rising diplomatic tensions between the United States and Iran, their plans for the future seem to have evaporated,” the paper said.
Amin, 34, entering a Ph.D program at the University of Florida, was turned away January 1 at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta.