Teen says denied US entry over pals' social media posts

A Palestinian student from Lebanon who was set to begin his freshman year at Harvard was denied entry to the United States after immigration officials objected to his friends' social media posts, he said this week, prompting furore among free-speech advocates.
The student, Ismail Ajjawi, 17, landed in Boston on Friday, and was turned back by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent, according to an account he gave in the Harvard Crimson, a student daily. Ajjawi said his phone and laptop were searched and that he was questioned at the airport about his friends' social media activity. He wrote that an agent had yelled at him and "said she found people posting political points of view that oppose the US on my friend list."
He told the agent that he should not be held responsible for others' posts, the daily reported. "I responded that I have no business with such posts and that I didn't like, share or comment on them," he said, adding. "I have no single post on my timeline discussing politics."
Ajjawi said his visa was then cancelled and that he was sent back to Lebanon. Classes at Harvard are set to begin September 3. Michael McCarthy, a spokesman for CBP, said he couldn't comment on the specifics of the case because of privacy rules. "This individual was deemed inadmissible to the US based on information discovered during the CBP inspection," the agency said.
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References

1. ^{^} Lebanon (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
2. ^{^} Ismail Ajjawi (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
3. ^{^} Boston (www.happytrips.com)
4. ^{^} the Harvard Crimson (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

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