By Suara Sherif
A Nigerian-born nursing professor in the United States, Dr. Ann Lawani, has remained in immigration detention for nearly eight weeks after federal immigration agents arrested her at her home in California and transferred her thousands of miles away to Louisiana, triggering widespread concern and calls for her release.
Lawani, a 39-year-old nursing educator at the University of San Francisco (USF), was arrested on September 16, 2026, at her residence in Lodi, Northern California. Following her arrest, she was transferred through multiple detention facilities before being taken to Louisiana.
Her family reportedly spent three days trying to establish her whereabouts after she disappeared from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) online detainee locator. They eventually received a call from her after she reached a processing facility in Louisiana. She remains in federal custody.
The circumstances surrounding her detention have raised questions about immigration enforcement, transparency and due process, particularly because an immigration judge had previously ruled that she could not be deported to Nigeria due to the risk of persecution she could face there.
Although her asylum application was denied in 2013, the judge granted her withholding of removal to Nigeria. Lawani also holds a valid US work permit, which her supporters say underscores her established professional and community ties.
However, the Department of Homeland Security has defended the detention, maintaining that she entered the United States on a temporary visa in 2007 but overstayed her authorised period. The department has also argued that employment authorisation does not, by itself, confer legal immigration status.
Lawani’s detention has attracted the attention of California lawmakers, university officials, nursing colleagues and students. US Congressman Josh Harder has called for her release, questioning the justification for keeping a healthcare professional with no reported criminal history in detention while her immigration case proceeds.
At the University of San Francisco, where she oversees a nursing programme involving more than 200 students, her prolonged absence has disrupted academic responsibilities and raised concerns among colleagues.
Beyond her university duties, Lawani has worked as a nurse at John Muir Health and is also a caregiver to her 83-year-old father.
Her case has reignited debate over the treatment of immigrants working in critical sectors of the American economy, particularly healthcare, where foreign-trained professionals play an important role in patient care and nursing education.
While her supporters are demanding her release and a fair resolution of her immigration case, federal authorities maintain that she remains in custody pending removal proceedings.
