(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - President Fred Kowal is strongly condemning ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for taking a University at Buffalo (UB) Researcher into custody after he made a wrong turn on the Peace Bridge between Buffalo and Canada.

Shovgi Huseynov, a UB Medical Researcher and an Azerbaijan native, was detained by Border Patrol Agents on January 7th after taking a wrong turn on the bridge and immediately returning to the U.S. from the Canadian border checkpoint.

According to the Buffalo-based Investigative Post, Huseynov was turned over to ICE by Border Patrol Agents after being detained when he returned to Buffalo.

Kowal said: “This is ridiculous. The arrest of our colleague has absolutely nothing to do with the security of our Nation or the protection of life or property in Western New York. This was a simple driving error. For Federal Officers to use Gestapo-like tactics to take an innocent, productive member of the community and a dedicated Dad and place him in custody for taking a wrong turn is ludicrous. At the same time, this situation is also frightening because it’s clear that there are no limits on what ICE can and will do.”

A UB spokesman confirmed Huseynov, who has no criminal record, has worked at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences since 2022 on a Department of Homeland Security-approved work authorization that is valid through 2029.

He is State University of New York (SUNY) Research Foundation Employee.

Huseynov is being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia.

The Investigative Post report said an ICE spokesperson, in a statement, alleged Huseynov, who entered the U.S. on a J1 Visa, is without legal status and that the agency will attempt to deport him.

Huseynov’s Facebook page lists him as a Postdoc Researcher and a student of Fundamentals of Neuroscience at Harvard University.

In November 2025, he posted that he took part in the Society for Neuroscience’s Neuroscience 2025 Conference in San Diego.

He is married and has a son and a young daughter.

In October 2025, UUP Member Alcibiades “Alex” Lazaro Ramírez González and his husband, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Member Yannier “Yan” Vázquez Hildago, were detained by ICE Agents in Syracuse while waiting to attend an Immigration hearing.

Both men work at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse.

A Federal Immigration Judge ruled Tuesday (January 13th) to deport González to Ecuador pending an appeal.

Homeland Security used an Asylum Cooperative Agreement between the U.S. and Ecuador to deport González.

UUP is the Nation's largest Higher Education Union, representing more than 42,000 Academic and Professional Faculty and Retirees.

Its Members work at 29 New York State-operated Campuses, including SUNY's Public Teaching Hospitals and Health Science Centers in Brooklyn, Long Island and Syracuse.

UUP is an affiliate of New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA) and the AFL-CIO.