Stanford Grad Student Detained; University Issues Travel Warning
STANFORD (CBS SF) – A Stanford graduate student was detained for several hours at a New York Airport in the wake of a presidential ordered travel ban, triggering the university Sunday to issue a warning to its foreign students.
The New York Times has identified the student as 39-year-old Nisrin Omer, a Sudanese immigrant who is a legal U.S. resident and holds a green card. She is studying anthropology at Stanford.
"For the brief moment I was handcuffed, I couldn't control myself and I just started crying," she told the Times. "It was humiliating. I thought I was going to be returned to Sudan."
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She was released after undergoing several hours of questioning.
In response, Stanford issued a statement.
"We are quite concerned about the experience of one of our students upon returning to the United States from Sudan late Friday," the statement read. "This graduate student, a legal permanent resident of the United States, was detained for several hours at Kennedy International Airport, and handcuffed briefly, upon trying to return from a research trip. "
"While thankfully she was released, we are enormously concerned about the anguish this episode caused our student and her family, and what it may suggest for others in similar situations."
The statement advise other students who are in a similar situation to cancel any foreign travel plans.
"The university is encouraging members of our community who may be impacted by the executive order to postpone international travel for the time being," the statement said.