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The Iranian Student Deportation Was An Impeachable Offense
A judge said not to deport Shahab Dehghani last week. CBP did it anyway. Heads should roll.
Shahab Dehghani is a student at Northeastern University. He got his student visa after a long, intense process that was supposed to make sure he wasn’t a threat to anyone and wasn’t planning to stay in the country. But when his flight arrived from Iran, Customs and Border Protection stopped him. They revoked his visa, saying they believed he would try to stay permanently, and said he’d have to fly back right away. They never said why they thought he’d stay.
This is one life in disarray. Shahab Dehghani is in the wrong country with his plans upended. It also leaves every other student visa holder wondering if the same will happen to them. But it’s not the scariest part of the story.
Before being deported, while he was still in CBP custody, Mr. Dehghani filed an emergency lawsuit. That same day, the judge ordered CBP not to deport him before they could have a hearing about it.
Temporary emergency orders like this are fairly common. It doesn’t mean the judge agreed he should be allowed in the country, though it does mean the judge thought he had enough…
