Three weeks after Taha Tariq ’28 was barred from reentering the United States, a spokesperson for United States Customs and Border Protection declined to provide a reason for the decision.
Tariq told The Dartmouth he was given an expedited removal order at the border, which allows immigration officers to remove people without U.S. citizenship without a hearing before an immigration judge. He declined to provide the document to The Dartmouth for verification.
In an Aug. 26 response to The Dartmouth’s inquiry, the CBP spokesperson declined to clarify whether Tariq had been issued an expedited removal order or simply refused reentry. She referred to her Aug. 24 statement, in which she wrote that Tariq “underwent additional inspection — a routine part of CBP’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility” at the Derby Line, Vt. border checkpoint.
“Following inspection, the traveler, a student, was determined to be inadmissible and was denied entry,” the spokesperson wrote on Aug. 24. “All travelers seeking entry into the United States, including students, are subject to CBP inspection and vetting. Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security and immigration information available at the time of inspection. CBP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections and determine admissibility consistent with U.S. law.”
In a follow-up statement on Aug. 25, they declined to give a reason why he was deemed inadmissible for reentry.
Tariq’s car — which was carrying three other Dartmouth students — was stopped for hours when returning to Dartmouth from the Osheaga music festival in Montreal, a sophomore summer tradition. The other three students were permitted to reenter the U.S. Tariq has been in Canada for three weeks and will finish his summer term classes remotely, he told The Dartmouth.
Dartmouth spokesperson Jana Barnello wrote in an email statement that the College “continues to support our student through this ongoing situation.”
“He has been working with an immigration attorney secured by Dartmouth,” Barnello wrote. “We are working to connect him with additional legal representation.”
Although Tariq does not yet have a lawyer representing him in his case, he is receiving guidance from Massachusetts-based immigration lawyer Dan Berger, with whom the College connected him. Holland and Knight senior counsel Richard Petty is advising Tariq on media communication about his case.
Berger and Petty declined to comment.
Iris WeaverBell ’28 is a reporter and editor. She is from Portland, Ore., and is majoring in economics and minoring in public policy.
