California Nursing Professor Detained by ICE: Campus and Community Demand Her Release

Nearly two months after immigration agents removed a well-regarded California nurse and educator from her home in Lodi, her university has intensified efforts to secure her release.

“She needs to come home,” said Eileen Fry-Bowers, dean of the University of San Francisco’s School of Nursing, referring to Ann Lawani. Lawani was arrested by immigration authorities in September and has since been transferred between detention facilities in California, Texas, and Louisiana through a series of unclear moves.

Lawani, 39, arrived in the United States in 2007. She built a career as a nursing professional, earning master’s and doctoral degrees, before moving into higher education.

At the University of San Francisco, she oversees two programs: a master’s entry pathway for students without nursing backgrounds and a bachelor’s program for those planning to work in public health safety-net institutions.

“She is directly involved with nearly 300 students on a regular basis,” Fry-Bowers said.

Lawani’s detention has drawn protests from local legislators, who have appealed to ICE on her behalf, and from her students and colleagues, who say her absence is profoundly felt on campus.

Casey Murray, a nursing science graduate student, described Lawani as a compassionate instructor who could remember the first and last names of students she had not encountered since orientation.

“We have 37 days left until we graduate,” Murray said. “She has supported us fully until the moment she was taken. We want her at our commencement, and we want her back home with her family.”

Federal immigration officials state that Lawani entered the U.S. on a visitor’s visa in 2007 and overstayed. She received a final removal order in August 2013, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.

Natalia Santanna, Lawani’s attorney, confirmed the removal order but characterized DHS’s version as “incomplete.”

“Dr. Lawani filed for asylum within one year of arriving in the United States. In that same 2013 order, the immigration judge determined that Ann would more likely than not face persecution in Nigeria and granted withholding of removal,” Santanna said. “That is not a temporary stay. It is a continuing bar to removal to Nigeria. Dr. Lawani has lived in the United States under that grant of withholding of removal since 2013.”

Santanna said they have filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of her detention; the case remains pending in California’s Eastern District Court.

Meanwhile, Lawani’s students and colleagues continue to organize around her.

Lawani texted Fry-Bowers about being in ICE custody shortly after her arrest. Fry-Bowers, who was on vacation, learned from another dean that Lawani had missed a meeting—unusual for her.

After hearing from Lawani’s family, the university mobilized, assisting with legal counsel and raising concerns with the regional congressional delegation.

In late October, Representative Josh Harder, who represents Lawani’s district, raised concerns with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, including the lack of advance notice before her arrest and the fact that her various locations were not reflected in the online detainee database.

“Given her long history of compliance, absence of a criminal record, and strong community ties, there is no clear public safety rationale for keeping her detained thousands of miles from home while her case proceeds,” Harder wrote in a letter at the time.

Fry-Bowers commended Lawani for her work with hospice and palliative care patients.

“She cares for the most vulnerable, helping them preserve dignity and comfort as they prepare for the end of life,” she said. “She is an exemplary professional. The greatest compliment I can offer a nursing colleague is that I would trust them to care for my own family or myself, and she ranks at the top.”

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