A longtime U.S. green-card holder was barred from reentering the country after a trip abroad, his wife told Newsweek.
Issa Salma Baouna, 49, a native of Niger, was stopped by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on March 6. He previously traveled internationally using a valid I-551 stamp in his passport without issue, according to his wife, Josette Casterlow Baouna. An I-551 stamp is a temporary proof of lawful permanent resident status in the U.S., placed in a passport while a green card is being processed, replaced or renewed, allowing the holder to live, work and travel as a permanent resident.
Baouna was questioned for six hours by CBP about his time abroad before being informed that he could not enter the United States, his wife said. Fearing detention in immigration custody, he voluntarily withdrew his application for admission and returned to Niger. Although his green card had expired, it still serves as evidence of his lawful permanent resident status. During the return trip, a CBP officer confiscated the card at the airport, his wife said.
“We’ve been told that Issa is no longer a lawful permanent resident and can’t receive travel documentation. That has left me devastated,” Josette Baouna told Newsweek.
A CBP spokesperson told Newsweek that Issa Baouna was denied entry after being deemed “inadmissible.” The spokesperson said that an immigration judge had terminated his permanent resident status and ordered his removal on June 23, 2022, citing fraud and willful misrepresentation. The spokesperson added that Issa Baouna had been arrested and charged with assault on a woman in Greensboro, North Carolina, and had overstayed a tourist visa in 2002.
“CBP determined he is inadmissible to the U.S. because he was ordered removed and left the country, constituting a self-deportation,” the spokesperson said. “Baouna was paroled into the country multiple times in 2023 by the Biden administration. The Trump administration is not going to ignore the rule of law.”
The Baouna family disputes the characterization of Issa’s record.
“My husband is not a criminal. There was no conviction, no probation, no finding of guilt and no record of wrongdoing,” Josette Baouna told Newsweek. “The matter you referenced from many years ago in Greensboro, North Carolina, was dismissed and stemmed from a misunderstanding during a domestic disagreement.”
Soon after returning to Niger, Issa Baouna became gravely ill, contracting malaria that led to kidney failure and serious liver complications, his wife said. She ultimately decided to leave the United States and travel with their two young children to reunite with her husband on July 19.
Issa Baouna’s condition has required ongoing specialist treatment, but doctors in Morocco have said his illness is too advanced for long-term management, according to his wife. She said the best they can do is stabilize him while the family seeks to return him to the United States, where his full medical history and insurance are based.
“Every day that passes feels like a countdown against time,” Josette Baouna said.
The couple has applied for multiple forms of assistance, including expedited I-130 and I-131 petitions, humanitarian parole and travel documents. She said the first request for expedited review was denied, and even though she was told the case could still be reviewed, current processing estimates indicate it could take up to 18 months.
“I wasn’t asking for special treatment—just mercy for a husband and father fighting for his life,” she said.
The Trump administration’s widespread deportation plans are targeting not only undocumented immigrants but also legal residents, including green-card holders and visa holders, with past criminal records.
Issa Baouna was a green-card holder from 2007 until 2020, his wife said. According to the family, errors by his first attorney in filing his paperwork created complications with his status, requiring him to rely on I-551 stamps in his passport to renew his driver’s license and travel internationally. When he later applied for naturalization, his application was flagged because he listed children he had in Niger.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services considered this a discrepancy because the children were not included on his original green-card application.
At the time of the initial application, someone else had completed the paperwork for him, and he had no intention of bringing his children to the United States. When he applied for naturalization, the person assisting him advised that he include the children “in case one day you wanted to bring them to the U.S.” USCIS later treated the omission as fraud and initiated legal proceedings, his wife said.
The Baouna family continues to seek a resolution that would allow Issa Baouna to return to the United States for advanced medical care.
“There are days I feel strong and others when I can barely breathe from the weight of it all,” Josette Baouna said.
