Harvard new student denied entry into the US because of social media posts made by his friends

A foreign student newly admitted to the prestigious Harvard University has been denied entry into the United States of America because of social media posts his friends made.

According to Washington Post, Palestinian Ismail Ajjawi, 17, arrived at Boston Logan International Airport on Friday night, but immigration officials detained him for eight hours.

Ajjawi was interrogated for hours and his phone and computer were searched. Afterward, they revoked his visa and sent him back home.

Speaking on the incident, an immigration officer said she “found people posting political points of view that oppose the U.S.,” though she discovered nothing Ajjawi had posted himself.

Narrating what happened, Ajjawi said, “After the five hours ended, she called me into a room, and she started screaming at me.

“She said that she found people posting political points of view that oppose the US on my friend list.

“I responded that I have no business with such posts and that I didn’t like, share or comment on them and told her that I shouldn’t be held responsible for what others post.”

Yet Ajjawi’s visa was revoked and he returned to Lebanon.

Harvard spokesman Jonathan L. Swain reacted in an emailed statement that reads: “The university is working closely with the student’s family and appropriate authorities to resolve this matters so that he can join his classmates in the coming days."

Reacting to the incident, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Michael McCarthy, said the department was “responsible for ensuring the safety and admissibility of the goods and people entering the United States.”

He added: “Applicants must demonstrate they are admissible into the U.S. by overcoming all grounds of inadmissibility, including health-related grounds, criminality, security reasons, public charge, labor certification, illegal entrants and immigration violations, documentation requirements, and miscellaneous grounds.

"This individual was deemed inadmissible to the United States based on information discovered during the CBP inspection."

Share on Google Plus