Dr. Mohsen Dehnavi, a visiting cancer researcher and scholar set to begin work at Boston Children's Hospital, and his family were denied entry into the U.S. and sent back to Iran July 11, according to WBUR News.
Prasant Desai, JD, an immigration attorney working on behalf of the hospital, told WBUR Dr. Dehnavi and his family were detained at Boston Logan International Airport Monday and later denied entry into the U.S. The family was placed on a flight back to Iran July 11.
Dr. Dehnavi reportedly received a valid J-1 exchange visitor visa in May, which allows him to visit the U.S. for a certain period of time until his work with Boston Children's is complete.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday Dr. Dehnavi and his family were "deemed inadmissible to the U.S. based on information discovered during [customs and boarder control] inspection." Their detention at the airport and subsequent emigration were not related to President Donald Trump's executive order banning new visas for residents of six predominantly Muslim countries, which the Supreme Court partially reinstated last month, according to the report.
Mr. Desai said boarder officials at the airport did not provide him with any details about why the family was denied entry. He also claimed officials have not allowed him to speak to the family, according to the report.
"[Dr. Dehnavi] is a researcher, he has a relationship with a laboratory at [Boston] Children's Hospital and from what I know, what I've been told, he has many contributions to make," Mr. Desai told WBUR.