Family kicks as US detains Nigerian nursing professor for two months

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A Nigerian-born nursing professor detained by United States immigration authorities for nearly two months is at the centre of a dispute over her deportation, after an immigration judge ruled that she should not be returned to Nigeria over fears of persecution.
Dr Ann Lawani, 39, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at her home in Lodi, California, on September 16, 2026, and is being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Centre.
Lawani entered the US in 2007 on a visitor visa and later applied for asylum. Although her application was rejected in 2013, her lawyer, Natalia Vieira Santanna, said the immigration judge granted her withholding of removal to Nigeria after finding that she was more likely than not to face persecution if returned.
Santanna told KCRA 3 that the ruling barred the US government from deporting her to Nigeria. She also said Lawani's work permit remains valid until April 2029.
However, the Department of Homeland Security maintained that Lawani had been issued a final removal order and would remain in detention.
“She received due process and was issued a final order of removal on August 6, 2013. She will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States,” the department told KCRA 3.
It added that “work authorisation does not confer legal status in the U.S.”
Lawani was initially taken to a detention facility in Stockton, California, before being transferred through other facilities, including El Paso, Texas, to Louisiana.
Her detention has drawn criticism from her family, university colleagues, a nurses' union and elected officials, who have called for her release.
United States Congressman Josh Harder, who represents Lodi, asked the Department of Homeland Security to release Lawani and return her to California while her case proceeds.
In a statement on November 10, Harder said there was no apparent public safety reason to keep her detained far from home.
“Given her longstanding compliance, lack of criminal history, and substantial community ties, there is no apparent public safety justification for keeping Dr Lawani detained thousands of miles from home while her case proceeds,” he said.
His office also disclosed that he had written to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin seeking clarification on the country to which the government intends to deport her and the basis for her continued detention.
Lawani is the Statewide ME-MSN Programme Director at the University of San Francisco, where she oversees about 230 nursing students. She also works as a nurse at John Muir Health.
The university's Dean of Nursing and Health Professions, Eileen Fry-Bowers, said her continued detention was affecting students, faculty and the institution's work.
“Her continued absence causes real and mounting harm to the students and faculty who rely on her mentorship, to our accreditation-mandated curriculum work, and to the safety-net partnerships she has built,” Fry-Bowers said, according to KQED.
The National Nurses United also called for her immediate release and return to California, describing her as a dedicated professional.
“Ann Lawani represents the best of us: a hardworking, dedicated nurse who committed herself fully to her education and profession and is beloved by her patients, her students, and her community,” the union said in a statement on Wednesday.
Her brother, Samuel Lawani, told KCRA 3 that the family was deeply concerned about her detention.
“To simply put it, she is a lifesaver,” he said, adding, “I will move the earth if possible to make sure she gets out of there.”
Lawani holds a PhD in Nursing and a master's degree in Nursing in Clinical Nurse Leadership from the University of San Diego, as well as a bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration from California State University, Sacramento.
Her clinical experience includes caring for patients with cardiopulmonary conditions, stroke, cystic fibrosis and orthopaedic conditions. Her research focuses on palliative care, advanced cancer, chronically ill older adults and end-of-life transitions.
The University of San Francisco said it was supporting efforts to secure due process for her, while the central question over her continued detention remains unresolved: DHS has yet to publicly clarify where it intends to send her, despite the 2013 ruling barring her removal to Nigeria.