# University of San Francisco seeks release of detained nursing professor

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/calls-grow-for-release-of-beloved-california-nurse-detained-by-ice-we-want-her-home/
- Published: 2026-11-13T00:19:54+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T00:47:57+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/12/california-nurse-release-ice-custody
- Topics: Politics, World

## Key points

- University supporters want detained professor Ann Lawani released.
- Her lawyer says she has had protection from removal to Nigeria since 2013.
- A court petition challenging her detention is pending.

## Summary

The University of San Francisco and supporters are calling for the release of Ann Lawani, a nurse and professor detained by US immigration authorities since September. Her absence has prompted concern among students, colleagues and local lawmakers, who say she is a valued educator and want her home with her family and at her students’ graduation.

Lawani, 39, came to the US in 2007 and leads two nursing programmes at the university, working with nearly 300 students. Authorities say she overstayed a visitor visa and received a removal order in 2013; her lawyer says an immigration judge that year granted her protection from removal to Nigeria after finding she would likely face persecution there. Her lawyer has filed a habeas petition challenging the detention, which remains pending, while Lawani has been transferred among detention centres in California, Texas and Louisiana.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.