A Stony Brook doctoral student has been released after being detained at John F. Kennedy Airport following President Trump’s executive order barring citizens from certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
Vahideh Rasekhi, an Iranian citizen, was released Sunday afternoon after being held for over 24 hours.
“I was scared. I was super scared that I gonna go back, that I’m going to be deported. I came here legally!”
She said she was looking forward to getting some rest, to “go home, relax. I haven’t slept in more than 48 hours. I’m so tired, I don’t know how I look, I’m exhausted.”
Rasekhi returned to Iran in November to visit family. She has lived in the United States for more than 10 years.
Stony Brook is advising students from the seven countries named in the executive order from traveling outside of the United States unless absolutely necessary.
To learn more, go to the Stony Brook Press.
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