Crowd gathers at Logan Airport to protest deportation of Iranian college student

BOSTON — Hundreds of people showed up at Logan International Airport on Monday to protest against the deportation of a Northeastern University student back to his native Iran.

Mohammad Shahab Dehghani Hossein was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after he landed at Boston Logan International Airport Sunday and has been held in federal custody since. CBP officials told him to leave on the next flight out of the US, according to his attorneys.

The 24-year-old Iranian national was issued a valid student visa to study in Boston about a week ago and underwent extensive background checks, his attorneys said in an emergency petition filed to stop his removal from the US. A judge issued an emergency stay, and a 10 a.m. hearing is set for Tuesday at US District Court in Boston to determine if he will be allowed to continue his studies at Northeastern.

Boston 25 reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and they couldn’t address this exact case, only giving us this generic statement, saying in part:

CBP has policies in place that ensure multiple layers of review when adjudicating a denial of admission... CBP has the authority to cancel visas under certain circumstances.

Carol Rose, the executive director of the Massachusetts ACLU said in a statement on Twitter: "Given that Massachusetts is such a hub for international learning and students, it’s really problematic to think that this kind of arbitrary and capricious detention of people and possible removal from the country is happening. This case gives us an opportunity to find out whether this is just a random Customs and Border Patrol official or actually a policy.”

A rally in support of Dehghani is expected outside of the courthouse at 9 a.m.

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