{"id":397659,"date":"2026-08-04T19:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T19:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/397659\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T19:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T19:36:11","slug":"university-of-maryland-teacher-of-the-year-detained-by-ice-in-texas-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/397659\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Maryland \u2018teacher of the year\u2019 detained by ICE in Texas | Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

An instructor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore who only just received a \u201cteacher of the year\u201d award has been arrested by federal immigration agents under the command of the Trump administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE<\/a>) officials detained Berhanu Kibret, an instructor at the university\u2019s pharmacy school, at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport in Texas, according to<\/a> multiple news reports. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, confirmed Kibret\u2019s arrest, citing an expired visa \u2013 but it stopped short of providing a location.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the University of Maryland<\/a> said Kibret was arrested while returning from a meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, where he received a \u201cteacher of the year\u201d award.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr Kibret has a valid work authorization, so it is our hope that any issues surrounding his status will be quickly resolved and that he will be permitted to continue his work at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy,\u201d the institution added, according to CBS.<\/p>\n

Kibret\u2019s research focuses on how the brain\u2019s cannabinoid system influences mental health, brain disease and the effects of addictive drugs, the university\u2019s website says. He obtained bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in science as well as a PhD in Ethiopia \u2013 and he completed his postdoctoral fellowship at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Calling Kibret a \u201chighly valued member of the University of Maryland, Baltimore community\u201d, the school said it was \u201cgreatly troubled\u201d by his arrest.<\/p>\n

The university added: \u201cHe is an effective and beloved teacher, and a highly regarded colleague. His detention has generated not only great sympathy for his plight, but also a heightened sense of apprehension here on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to the Guardian, the DHS said ICE arrested Kibret after he entered the US on 21 June 2021 on a visa set to expire on 31 May 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgainst our nation\u2019s laws, he overstayed his visa and failed to depart,\u201d the DHS statement said. \u201cHe will remain in ICE custody pending his immigration proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Guardian has reached out to the University of Maryland, Baltimore for additional comment.<\/p>\n

Arrests such as that of Kibret have drawn criticism, particularly in light of the Trump administration\u2019s repeated pledge <\/a>to focus on targeting the \u201cworst of the worst criminal illegal aliens\u201d for arrest and deportation.<\/p>\n

A Guardian analysis<\/a> published in February found that 77% of people placed into deportation proceedings for the first time after Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025 had no criminal convictions.<\/p>\n

Kibret\u2019s arrest came after ICE in July detained and later released a Johns Hopkins researcher at the Baltimore\/Washington international airport.<\/p>\n

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Federal authorities detained Fatima Ameaka, a Cameroonian citizen with a doctorate in pharmacy who works at Johns Hopkins University\u2019s Bloomberg School of Public Health.<\/p>\n

Speaking to<\/a> several outlets during Ameaka\u2019s detention, a Johns Hopkins spokesperson described her as a \u201crespected member of our community\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe university understands the fear and concern this instills in members of our community,\u201d the spokesperson added. \u201cDr Ameaka was traveling in a personal capacity, and though we cannot comment on the specifics of her situation, we want to assure our community that the university is actively working to provide support for Dr Ameaka, including ensuring she has access to legal representation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Documents reviewed by ABC indicated that Ameaka held a work authorization valid through 2029 and had a pending asylum case.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, as ABC reported<\/a>, the DHS had initially said of Ameaka: \u201cIn violation of our nation\u2019s laws, she overstayed her visa. She will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ameaka\u2019s attorney on Sunday confirmed that she had been released from ICE detention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An instructor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore who only just received a \u201cteacher of the year\u201d award…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-397659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}