Harvard student says U.S. visa was canceled due to friends' social media posts

An incoming Harvard freshman says after flying into Boston on Friday, his visa was rejected and he was deported due to social media posts made by his friends.

Ismail Ajjawi, a 17-year-old Palestinian resident of Lebanon, told The Harvard Crimson that immigration officials at Boston Logan Airport questioned him about his religion and religious practices. One official asked him for his phone and laptop, he said, and five hours later, "she called me into a room, and she started screaming at me. She said that she found people posting political points of view that oppose the U.S. on my friend list." Ajjawi added that he told the official he never makes political posts on social media, and was not responsible for the views of others.

Eight hours after his arrival at the airport, Ajjawi's visa was canceled and he was put on a flight back to Lebanon. Customs and Border Patrol confirmed with CBS News that Ajjawi was "deemed inadmissible" by the officer. A Harvard spokesperson said the university is "working closely with the student's family and appropriate authorities to resolve this matter so that he can join his classmates in the coming days."

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