UPDATED: Aug. 27, 2019 at 10:11 a.m.

While most Harvard freshmen settle into their dorms Tuesday, one new student, Ismail B. Ajjawi ’23, faces ongoing negotiations with immigration officers to allow him to enter the United States and study at the College.

U.S. officials deported Ajjawi, a 17-year-old Palestinian resident of Tyre, Lebanon, Friday night shortly after he arrived at Boston Logan International Airport. Before canceling Ajjawi’s visa, immigration officers subjected him to hours of questioning — at one point leaving to search his phone and computer — according to a written statement by Ajjawi.

Ajjawi wrote that he spent eight hours in Boston before he was required to leave. Upon arrival, Ajjawi faced questioning from immigration officials along with several other international students. While the other students were allowed to leave, Ajjawi alleges an immigration officer continued to question him about his religion and religious practices in Lebanon.

The same officer then asked him to unlock his phone and laptop, and left to search them for roughly five hours, Ajjawi alleges. After the search, the officer questioned him about his friends’ social media activity.

U.S. officials deported a 17-year-old Palestinian student who was set to begin classes at Harvard University after searching his phone and laptop and finding social media posts from friends expressing “political points of view that oppose the U.S.,” the Harvard Crimson reported Tuesday.

After arriving at Boston Logan Airport on Friday, Ismail Ajjawi was detained and questioned for hours by immigration officials, who ultimately revoked his student visa and sent him back to Lebanon, where he is a resident.

In a written statement, Ajjawi said he was subjected to a five-hour interrogation that included questions about his religion.

“After the 5 hours ended, [an immigration officer] 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 U.S. on my friend[s] list.”

Alan C wrote:I wonder if he'd have been subjected to all that, including being screamed at for his friends posting 'opposing political points of view', if he was white?

Mind you, given the way things are going with all this 'enemy of the people' crap flying around there, even that might not have helped?