Dr. Ann Lawani, 39, was taken from her Lodi home in shackles by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while her elderly father was asleep in the house, according to supporters. A native of Nigeria, Lawani has lived and worked in the United States for 21 years on a valid work permit and had been granted a legal status known as "withholding of removal" because of the threat of persecution she faces in Nigeria, which allows her to remain and work in the country lawfully.

After her arrest, Lawani was initially held at a detention center in Stockton before being moved to El Paso, Texas, and then transferred across the country to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, where she remains, colleagues said.

"Dr. Lawani has spent her entire career in service to our community, and ICE shows up on her doorstep while her elderly father is asleep in the home, whisks her away from her family, and then transports her across the entire part of the country," said U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif.

Harder sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding Lawani's immediate return to California and her family. He argued that her detention contradicts the agency's public claims that it prioritizes people who pose a threat to public safety.

"This goes against everything ICE has publicly said," Harder said. "They're saying they are keeping our community safe and prioritizing folks who are threatening public safety. This is exactly the opposite."

At USF, Lawani oversees the master's nursing program and works weekends in the cardiovascular stroke unit at John Muir Health. Colleagues said she has spent her career caring for vulnerable patients, including serving on the front lines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and that her specialty is palliative and hospice care.

"I'm shocked. I'm angry. Here's a person who has committed herself to caring for others. In fact, the most vulnerable, in that her specialty is palliative and hospice care, and yet she's in this situation now. I find it unfathomable," said Eileen Fry-Bowers, dean of the USF School of Nursing.

"I'm appalled that an individual like Dr. Lawani is in this circumstance. She's one of the finest nurses that I know," Fry-Bowers added, speaking alongside other supporters. "I get really upset thinking Anne is alone right now in a place where she's not safe, and she needs to come home to us."

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case has become a flashpoint in the Bay Area over federal immigration enforcement, with supporters arguing that Lawani's long residency, valid work authorization and protected legal status make her detention both legally questionable and a stark example of enforcement priorities gone awry. Her transfer to a facility more than 2,000 miles from her home and family has heightened concerns about her safety and access to legal counsel.