Nine Chinese undergraduate students who were returning to Arizona State University were denied entry into the United Staes at the Los Angeles International Airport.
According to a USA Today report, last week the students who arrived at the airport were “detained” by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials and sent back to their country after the officers found them “inadmissible to the United States based on information discovered during the CBP inspection.”
As of now, the university has not been notified by senior CBP officials about the reasons for the decision. The school said in a statement that all students were eligible to return and resume their classes.
“All of the students caught in this situation were academically eligible to return to ASU and to the United States under their visas,” the statement read.
“The university has engaged with all levels of the federal government over the last week, including the Secretary of State and acting Secretary of Homeland Security, to understand the circumstances surrounding these actions and work to rectify the situation as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, ABC15 sources have revealed that students were sent back for committing academic fraud, which is in violation of the F1 student visa. The CBP officials found out that the students were getting their academic work completed by someone else through payments.
The CBP said in a statement that students were “deemed inadmissible,” but were not detained and can re-apply for a visa.
Lately, many organizations, activists, higher educational institutions have raised concerns over increased scrutiny of Chinese students due to their country of origin and encroachment of their individual rights in violation of the principle of free and open academic inquiry and exchange.
China’s Ministry of Education has already warned its citizens about problems they may encounter when studying and traveling in the U.S. The government also warned its students about possible visa delays and denials.
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