U.S. Rep. Josh Harder spoke out Tuesday against the detention by federal immigration authorities of a longtime Lodi resident who also serves as the director of a nursing program at University of San Francisco.
Ann Lawani was recently detained at her home, where she acted as the caregiver for her 83-year-old father, despite having legal permission to live and work in the country, according to a statement from Rep. Harder, D-Stockton.
Lawani, who is from Nigeria, has a doctorate in nursing and has lived in Lodi for the past 13 years. She has no criminal record, according to Harder. He said she was in the country legally under a judicial protection order that allowed her to work and prevented her from being removed to Nigeria, where she could have faced persecution, according to an immigration judge.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in late October, Harder called for Lawani’s immediate release and questioned why DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement transferred her thousands of miles away to a detention center in Louisiana without notifying her lawyer, and in apparent violation of a judge’s ruling.
He said she was transferred to multiple other states before winding up in Louisiana.
“During these transfers, her whereabouts were not reflected in ICE’s online detainee locator, leaving her family and attorney struggling to locate her,” Harder wrote in his letter, which was addressed to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “ICE has also reportedly pursued her removal to an undisclosed third country without providing her or her attorney with the relevant documentation. These circumstances raise serious concerns about due process, transparency, and the justification for her continued detention.”
ICE did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday on Lawani’s transfers or her absence from the agency’s detainee locator.
‘Unacceptable arrest’
Lawani is also a nurse at John Muir Health. Harder said her detention is impacting her patients there.
Lawani’s brother, Samuel Lawani, described his sister as a caring medical professional who was dedicated to helping her father, patients, and students with equal attention.
“My sister is an amazing caregiver, healthcare leader, and educator in our community, and I was devastated not just at her unacceptable arrest, but the decision to send her across the country and detain her unnecessarily,” Samuel Lawani said in a statement provided by Harder’s office. “Not only is Dr. Ann a scholar in her profession, but an extremely skilled nurse with unmatched dedication to her patients and students alike. She gives everything she has, daily, to save lives and train the nurses of the future to be as trained, ready and dedicated as she is.”
As the program director for University of San Francisco’s master’s in nursing degree, Lawani also oversees the nursing education of about 230 students.
Eileen Fry-Bowers, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions at USF, said in a statement shared by Harder that Lawani’s absence was being acutely felt by students and colleagues.
“Her continued absence causes real and mounting harm to the students and faculty who rely on her mentorship, to our accreditation-mandated curriculum work, and to the safety-net partnerships she has built,” Fry-Bowers said.
Harder said in his letter that Lawani had complied with all previous requirements placed on her by immigration authorities, so there was no reason not to allow her to remain free while any potential immigration proceedings play out. He called on her to be transferred to California and released while her case was considered.