United University Professions (UUP) President Fred Kowal has issued a statement after University at Buffalo (UB) Research Scientist Shovgi Huseynov was released from an ICE Detention Facility in Michigan:

Huseynov, an Azerbaijani native who has a valid U.S. Work Authorization, was apprehended by ICE agents on January 7th after making a wrong turn onto the Peace Bridge from Buffalo to Canada. In a January 31st Facebook post, he said he was home and has returned to work.  As a State University of New York (SUNY) Research Foundation employee, Huseynov is not a member of UUP - however, he is a colleague who works closely with UUP Members.

Kowal said:

This is fantastic news and we couldn’t be happier for Mr. Huseynov and his family.

I know our Members at the University at Buffalo are overjoyed over his return.

Mr. Huseynov should have never been apprehended by ICE.

This man, who is doing important, lifesaving research at UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, took a wrong turn onto the Peace Bridge.

At worst, this is a traffic violation.

Certainly, a wrong turn onto the Peace Bridge, which happens every day, does not warrant the type of punishment and pain brought down upon him, his wife and his family by ICE.

Yet, these Gestapo-like tactics are used every day by ICE Agents, who act as if they are the law and favor brutality and intimidation over humanity and fairness.

Mr. Huseynov committed no crime and has a valid work authorization - approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through 2029.

Yet, he was treated like a criminal and was whisked away, presumably by mask-wearing, armed ICE Agents.

Again, we are relieved that Mr. Huseynov is safe and back home.

But we will not stop our loud opposition to the militarization of our cities by this lawless administration and the atrocities ICE agents serve daily on Immigrants and U.S. citizens, which include the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and the abhorrent detainment of Liam Conejo Ramos, the five-year-old Texas boy who was taken by ICE agents with his father and released by court order January 31st.

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

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

To Directly Access This UUP Statement, Go To: Press Release | Statement by United University Professions President Frederick E. Kowal on the release of University at Buffalo researcher Shovgi Huseynov