Dr Ann Lawani, a nurse and tenured professor at the University of San Francisco, was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at her home in Lodi, California, on 16 September 2026. She remains held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center as of mid November.
Agents arrived at the residence and removed Lawani in shackles. She was first held at a facility in Stockton before transfer to El Paso in Texas and then across the country to the processing centre in southern Louisiana. Family members reported difficulty locating her for several days until she contacted them from the Louisiana facility.
Lawani, aged 39 and born in Nigeria, has lived in the United States for more than two decades. She directs the Master’s Entry nursing programme at the University of San Francisco, overseeing roughly 230 students, and works as a registered nurse in the cardiovascular stroke unit at John Muir Health. Colleagues describe her as specialising in palliative and end of life care. She also acts as caregiver for her father, who is 83.
Supporters, including US Representative Josh Harder, state that Lawani holds a valid work permit and previously received protection from an immigration judge. In 2013 the same judge who ordered her removal also granted withholding of removal, barring deportation to Nigeria on the grounds that she faced a risk of persecution there. A federal judge has since blocked any removal while her challenge to the detention proceeds. Harder has written to the Department of Homeland Security demanding her return to California and release under supervision, arguing that she has no criminal history and that continued detention lacks public safety justification.
The Department of Homeland Security has responded that Lawani entered the country on a temporary visa in 2007, overstayed, and was issued a final order of removal in 2013. Officials state she will remain in custody pending removal.
University colleagues, including the dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions, have described the detention as disruptive to students and the nursing programme. A petition and fundraising effort have been launched by supporters seeking her release. Lawani’s case has drawn attention as a fresh example of enforcement action against an individual with long standing judicial protection and employment authorisation, and one not previously highlighted on earlier public lists of detainees.
As of the latest reports in November 2026 she continues to be held in Louisiana while legal proceedings continue in California.
By John James
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