A 17-year-old Palestinian and incoming Harvard freshman who was denied entry to the United States late last month has been allowed in to the U.S. and arrived in Cambridge in time to begin classes when they start Tuesday, his family and a nonprofit organization said.
Last month, Ismail Ajjawi was questioned by immigration officials for hours at Logan International Airport and denied entry to the U.S., the student and a university spokesman said last week.
Ajjawi flew into Boston on Saturday afternoon and was granted entry, according to his family and nonprofit organization AMIDEAST.
“The last 10 days have been difficult and anxiety filled, but we are most grateful for the thousands of messages of support and particularly the work of AMIDEAST,” the student’s family said in a statement from their lawyer to The Harvard Crimson, the college newspaper.
When he attempted to enter the U.S. in August, Ajjawi, who is Palestinian and lives in Lebanon, was allegedly asked about his religious practices and to unlock his phone and laptop, according to the statement cited by The Crimson last week.
When an immigration officer returned with the student’s phone and laptop about five hours later, he was questioned about his friends’ social media activity, according to the statement.
Customs and Border Protection told NBC News last week that Ajjawi was deemed inadmissible to the U.S. “based on information discovered during the CBP inspection.”
At that time, CBP said it could not release specific information about individual travelers because of privacy act requirements and law enforcement purposes. If the agency deems someone as inadmissible to the U.S., it has the authority to cancel a person’s visa.
A spokesperson for the agency on Monday night said that they were looking into the situation.
Ajjawi is attending Harvard on a scholarship.
He said in a statement distributed by AMIDEAST before his initial trip to the U.S. that he plans to study chemical and physical biology. “Thank you for making such a dream attainable,” the student said.
“We are pleased that Ismail’s Harvard dream will come true after all. Ismail is a bright young man whose hard work, intelligence and drive enabled him to overcome the challenges that Palestinian refugee youth continue to face in order to earn a scholarship,” AMIDEAST President and CEO Theodore Kattouf said in the statement.
In July, Harvard President Lawrence Bacow wrote a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan expressing concerns about students having difficulties obtaining visas, including delays and denials.
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Entrance gate and East facade of Sever Hall at Harvard Yard in Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MA, USA. It is used as the library, lecture hall and classroom for different courses.
Students sitting on the grass at Harvard Yard. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/UIG via Getty Images)
CAMBRIDGE, MA – JANUARY 27: Students play football at the Quad, on the campus of Harvard University on January 27, 2015 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Boston, and much of the Northeast, is being hit with heavy snow from Winter Storm Juno. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
ALLSTON, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES – 2015/10/18: Soldiers Field or Harvard Stadium on the Allston Campus of Harvard University. (Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States
Aerial view of F Kennedy Street in the Harvard University Area in Cambridge, MA, USA
Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States
The high gothic Memorial Hall at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Completed in 1877, it is a monument to the memorial of graduates who fought for the Union cause in the Civil War. Today it is a National Historic Landmark.
BOSTON, MA – JULY 26: The campus of Harvard Business School, July 26, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard, one of the most prestigious business schools in the world, emphasizes the case method in the classroom. (Photo by Brooks Kraft/Corbis via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JULY 26: The campus of Harvard Business School, July 26, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard, one of the most prestigious business schools in the world, emphasizes the case method in the classroom. (Photo by Brooks Kraft/Corbis via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JULY 26: The campus of Harvard Business School, July 26, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard, one of the most prestigious business schools in the world, emphasizes the case method in the classroom. (Photo by Brooks Kraft/Corbis via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JULY 26: The campus of Harvard Business School, July 26, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard, one of the most prestigious business schools in the world, emphasizes the case method in the classroom. (Photo by Brooks Kraft/Corbis via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JULY 26: The campus of Harvard Business School, July 26, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard, one of the most prestigious business schools in the world, emphasizes the case method in the classroom. (Photo by Brooks Kraft/Corbis via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JULY 26: The campus of Harvard Business School, July 26, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard, one of the most prestigious business schools in the world, emphasizes the case method in the classroom. (Photo by Brooks Kraft/Corbis via Getty Images)
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HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES – 2015/10/18: Dunster House dormitory with clock tower, Harvard University. (Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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A group sits on the steps of Widener Library at the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. Harvard University, established in 1636, is the United States’ oldest institution of higher learning. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The school motto ‘Veritas’ is inscribed over a gate at the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. Harvard University, established in 1636, is the United States’ oldest institution of higher learning. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Workers take down an American flag next to a statue of John Harvard in Harvard Yard at the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. Harvard University, established in 1636, is the United States’ oldest institution of higher learning. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Students on the campus of Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA. Harvard Law Schoolt is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. (Photo by Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images)
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