Ann Lawani was taken from her home, sparking a huge outcry among students and faculty at her university
Nearly two months after ICE agents whisked a beloved California nurse and professor from her home in Lodi, her university has ramped up calls for her release.
“She needs to come home,” said Eileen Fry-Bowers, dean for the University of San Francisco’s nursing school,in reference to Ann Lawani, who was arrested by immigration agents in September and has since been shuffled between detention centers in California, Texas, and Louisiana, in a series of opaque transfers.
Lawani, 39, came to the US in 2007. She established herself as a nursing professional, obtaining a master’s and doctoral degree in the field, before stepping into academia.
She steers two programs at the University of San Francisco, one a master’s entry program geared toward students with non-nursing backgrounds and another a bachelor’s program for students seeking to work in public health safety-net institutions.
“She basically has her hands on almost 300 students that she engages with on a regular basis,” Fry-Bowers said.
Lawani’s detention has sparked outcry from local lawmakers, who have advocated on her behalf to ICE authorities, as well as her students and colleagues, who say her absence is deeply felt on campus.
