http://www.thehullabaloo.com/news/article_56c2c35c-11f0-11e1-9e0d-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=print

Continuing Studies student detained

Rae Abbott | Posted: Friday, November 18, 2011 8:16 am

Ousman M'Boob, a 42-year-old School of Continuing Studies student, was
escorted from his Social Problems class by Department of Homeland
Security agents and Tulane University Police Department officers Oct.
11. M'Boob was an international student from the Republic of the
Gambia studying Homeland Security.

TUPD said M'Boob was wanted as a fugitive from justice in
Massachusetts, where he was arrested on two counts of assault and
battery, intimidating a witness, and reckless operation of vehicle.
Additionally, his visa had been expired for 23 years.

Investigators initially attempted to arrest M'Boob Oct. 5 at the home
address he'd given the university, but this led them to an abandoned
house. After DHS agents took M'Boob into custody six days later, they
transported him to their office for booking and further investigation.

M'Boob is currently being held in Basile, La. at the South Louisiana
Correctional Center until his immigration hearing.

One of M'Boob's professors became worried about M'Boob because of his
in-class claims that he was going to return to his native country and
become president and his request for on-campus housing, which seemed
odd considering his age. The professor was interested in determining
the immigration status of M'Boob. He was concerned that if M'boob were
terminated as a student, he might act out and place himself and others
at risk. The professor contacted TUPD.

"He came up on the radar when he wasn't providing identification
proving he was legally in the country to the housing people," Rollin
said.

Further investigation led TUPD to contact DHS.

Todd Tescher, one of M'Boob's classmates, said M'Boob made it a point
to give his input on every in-class topic.

"He always made sure his views were heard," Tescher said. "I never
expected this would have been him. He was so engaged and such a good
student."

Freshman Laura Garcia, another member of the class, said M'Boob was a
bit unusual.

"There was something definitely different about him," Garcia said.
"For the first couple of weeks, he literally always introduced himself
before he spoke. He said he was going to be president of his country
several times. Not just ‘I'm

looking to be' or ‘I want to be,' but ‘I'm going to be.'"

The School of Continuing Studies has an "open" admission policy,
requiring only a high school degree or GED. After applicants fill out
a one-page application and submit a $25 processing fee, they are
admitted.

"Our philosophy is that we should allow people to come in the door,"
said Richard Marksbury, dean of the School of Continuing Studies. "We
are part of this community, and we want to give its members an
opportunity to prove themselves."

The Office of International Students and Scholars provides advising
services with respect to immigration and visa matters. The office is
responsible for verifying student visas.

"The School of Continuing Studies did not send us information to
clarify M'Boob's status before they admitted him, which was the reason
he was caught after the fact," said David Goudy, director of the
Office of International Students and Scholars. "Had we received the
information up front, we would have told him he was not eligible from
an immigration standpoint to attend Tulane. This is an extremely
unusual situation."

Assistant Dean for the School of Continuing Studies Rosaria Guastella
said that the School of Continuing Studies does not get many foreign
applicants.

"When a student indicates that status to us, the first thing we do is
contact the Office of International Students [and Scholars] to verify
their visa. If a student were to lie on the application [and say they
were a US citizen], that's a different story."

Marksbury said that without reason to ask for verification, no Tulane
official would know if a social security number was invalid.

"That's trusted at face value," Marksbury said. "Nobody runs a social
security number. Someone would have to do cross checks, and that's
extensive. That's not even done when [a citizen] registers to vote."

Rollin said a similar incident happened two or three years ago.

"We had a person whose visa we couldn't verify, and DHS confirmed
they'd overstayed their visa," Rollin said. "That individual was also
facing external charges in Massachusetts."

-- 
-Laye
==============================
"With fair speech thou might have thy will,
With it thou might thy self spoil."
--The R.M

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