It took Ehsan Rajabi a few minutes to fully comprehend what was happening to him.⁠
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He and his wife were at the American border by Buffalo, New York, driving home to Baltimore after visiting his brother in Toronto. Rajabi, an Iranian graduate student studying art history at the Johns Hopkins University, presented all of his papers to border officials, including his student visa and his visitor visa for his Canadian vacation.⁠
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But the officers, Rajabi said, searched his car and phone, and interrogated him for hours. Then it happened: One of them took a bright red marker and drew a big diagonal cancellation line on his student visa.⁠
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Link in bio to read more. ⁠
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Reporting by Ellie Wolfe⁠
Photo: Courtesy of Ehsan Rajabi