# San Francisco professor and nurse is held in ICE custody for months as students demand she’s let out

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/san-francisco-professor-and-nurse-is-held-in-ice-custody-for-months-as-students-demand-shes-let-out/
- Published: 2026-11-12T06:52:52+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-12T07:03:47+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16284623/san-francisco-professor-nurse-ice-custody.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Dr Ann Lawani has been detained by ICE for nearly two months.
- DHS cites a 2013 removal order; her lawyer says she has protection from return to Nigeria.
- A federal judge is considering her petition challenging the detention.

## Summary

University of San Francisco professor and nurse Dr Ann Lawani has been held in ICE custody for nearly two months after being arrested at her home in California and transferred to a detention centre in Louisiana. Her detention has disrupted the university’s nursing programme and prompted former students, colleagues and a local congressman to call for her release.

The Department of Homeland Security says Lawani, who is from Nigeria, overstayed a visitor visa and has been subject to a final removal order since 2013. Her lawyer says an immigration judge also granted her protection from removal to Nigeria, where she could face persecution, and that her work authorisation is valid until 2029. A petition seeking her release has attracted nearly 16,000 signatures, while a federal judge is considering her claim that her detention violated her constitutional rights.

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