Overview

• Gu, a 22-year-old philosophy student bound for the University of Houston, was detained at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, questioned for about 36 hours, had his electronics seized and was deported for “documentation inadequate.”
• He received a five-year bar from reentering the United States and is weighing an appeal that could take years and require significant expense.
• The Embassy of China says it has logged reports from more than 10 students and scholars who were interrogated, harassed and repatriated upon arrival in the United States.
• Reported questioning included probes about ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the China Scholarship Council, with accounts of cold holding rooms and some detentions lasting over 80 hours.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection has not provided data or comment in response to inquiries, while President Trump has publicly welcomed Chinese students and emphasized careful vetting.