Teacher’s deportation postponed mid-flight

Syed Ahmad Jamal, a US chemistry teacher, was taken off the flight during a layover in Hawaii

The fate of a foreign-born teacher was in limbo Tuesday after his deportation from the United States was temporarily stopped while his flight was en route to his native Bangladesh.

Syed Ahmad Jamal, a chemistry teacher based in Lawrence, Kansas, was taken off the flight during a layover in Hawaii — the result of a dizzying chain of events that culminated in a last-minute stay of his deportation.

“Syed is still in the Honolulu Federal Detention Centre,” Jamal’s attorney Rekha SharmaCrawford said Tuesday.

A father of three US citizen children and a beloved member of his community, Jamal’s case has led to a massive outpouring of support from friends, neighbours and critics of US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

Jamal, 55, has lived in the United States for 30 years, overstaying his second visa in 2011. Without a relatively speedy path to citizenship, he had been granted a commonlyemployed administrative delay that allowed him to remain in the country and legally work. But immigration authorities could deport him at any time.

He suddenly was arrested three weeks ago while taking his daughter to school.

An immigration judge issued a stay of his deportation last week, but lifted the order Monday. In response, immigration authorities put Jamal on a flight to Bangladesh.

Then, an immigration appeals court granted another stay mid-flight, and Jamal was kept on US soil during a layover in Hawaii.

“We are awaiting an update from his case worker on what the decision is with the new stay in place, if he will be moved or not and, if so, where,” Sharma-Crawford said.