Nine Chinese ASU students were denied entry to the United States at Los Angeles International Airport last month returning for the fall semester. The students were sent back to China by Customs and Border Protection despite being enrolled at ASU.
In response, President Michael Crow sent a letter to various government officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and members of Arizona's congressional delegation.
The University said in a statement that it has "engaged with all levels of federal government" since the students were detained "to understand the circumstances surrounding these actions and work to rectify the situation as quickly as possible."
"The Chinese students were deemed inadmissible to the United States based on information discovered during the CBP inspection," CBP said in an emailed statement to The State Press.
According to the University, the students had the documentation they needed to enter the U.S. but were still denied.
"In our country, where we value due process and celebrate the different ways in which our government behaves from that of the arbitrary and capricious behavior of other nations, it is beyond my comprehension how the U.S. government could establish and implement policies that bring about the outcomes we are now witnessing," Crow wrote.
Crow requested a written explanation about the screening procedures for international students in his letter to Pompeo and acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan.
Crow cited a separate incident reported by The Harvard Crimson last month, when a Palestinian student's visa was canceled after he was detained at the Boston Logan International Airport.
The University denied the claim that the students were refused entry on the grounds of academic dishonesty and said that CBP has not given ASU any information on what happened.
Reach the reporter at krquaran@asu.edu and follow @kiaraquaranta on Twitter.
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