University of San Francisco professor held in ICE custody for months

An associate nursing professor at the University of San Francisco is being held in federal immigration custody after being arrested in California, according to the Daily Mail. Dr Ann Lawani, 39, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at her home in Lodi on September 16. The Daily Mail and ABC7 Bay Area report that colleagues and a congressman are demanding her release after almost two months in detention. [1][6][7]

According to her attorney Natalia Vieira Santanna, Lawani was moved through multiple facilities after her arrest, the Daily Mail reported. She was initially held in Stockton before being transferred to Bakersfield, El Paso, and ultimately to an immigration detention center in Louisiana. Lawani worked as a nurse at John Muir Health in the Bay Area alongside her teaching role. [1]

Former students have urgently called for Lawani's release, the Daily Mail said. San Francisco is the second most populous city in the Bay Area and has an estimated metropolitan statistical area population of 4.6 million people. [1][11]