Chemistry Professor Lived In US For 30 Years; He May Be Deported

LAWRENCE, KS — A Kansas chemistry instructor and father of three children who has lived in America for three decades could be deported to Bangladesh. On Jan. 24, Syed Ahmed Jamal was preparing to take his daughter to school when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took him into custody outside his Lawrence home.

ICE told media outlets in a statement that Jamal previously overstayed his temporary visa and didn't follow a judge's order to leave the country. He remains held in Morgan County, Missouri awaiting deportation.

Jamal is a molecular biologist who has conducted research with the University of Kansas, Children's Mercy Hospital and Rockhurst University, according to a post on his attorney's website. He has earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in the U.S., routinely volunteers at his children's schools and recently launched a campaign to fill an empty school board seat.

"Syed is viewed as a leader within his faith community at the Lawrence Islamic Center as well," the post said.

Jeffrey Bennett, an attorney for the family, told NBC that Jamal doesn't have a criminal record, save for a couple of speeding tickets.

Jamal's 9th grade son Taseen said in a letter posted on the attorney's website that his father is a minority who could face "grave danger" if deported to Bangladesh.

"My father called us, and he was crying like like a little child because he was thinking about what would happen to us if he got deported," he wrote. "If he gets sent back to Bangladesh, his home country, he will be in grave danger, and people of his kind are persecuted there. Just in 2014, nine people of his kind were burned alive."

He said the family is having trouble dealing with the situation.

"My little brother cries every night, my sister can’t focus in school, and I cannot sleep at night," he wrote.

Taseen added that his mother, a living kidney donor, is in trauma and could die from stress if her husband is deported.

"We are the children of Syed Jamal, and we are requesting on behalf of our family for your kind help to get back our father. A home is not a home without a father," he wrote.

A GoFundMe account established to help the family with legal costs has raised more than $26,000 over three days.

A petition on change.org has been created to stop ICE from deporting Jamal. It has more than 37,000 signatures.

Photo credit: GoFundMe