Dr Berhanu Kibret was arrested at Dallas Fort Worth airport as he headed home from the conference where he was honoured, with his university insisting he holds valid work authorisation while Homeland Security alleges he overstayed his visa.
A University of Maryland pharmacy instructor has been detained by US immigration officers at Dallas Fort Worth airport as he returned from the conference where he was named national Teacher of the Year. Dr Berhanu Kibret was arrested on 21 July after attending the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s annual meeting in Texas, according to the university and the Department of Homeland Security. The university insists he holds valid work authorisation, while DHS — in a statement to CBS Baltimore — alleges the Ethiopian national overstayed his visa and will be held in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.
Dr Kibret had just collected the AACP’s Teacher of the Year Award for 2025–26, a national honour recognising outstanding teaching and educational leadership among pharmacy faculty, which the association says he accepted at its annual meeting immediately before his detention. In its statement, the University of Maryland said: “He was returning from a meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, where he received a Teacher of the Year award.”
Homeland Security alleges visa overstay
DHS confirmed the arrest to CBS Baltimore and said the instructor is in the country illegally. “On July 21, 2026, ICE arrested Berhanu Geresu Kibret, an illegal alien from Ethiopia,” the department said. “Geresu Kibret entered the country on June 21, 2021, on a visa set to expire on May 31, 2024. Against our nation’s laws, he overstayed his visa and failed to depart. He will remain in ICE custody pending his immigration proceedings.”
The department added: “Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now.”
No immigration charges beyond the alleged visa overstay had been publicly announced as of the latest update, and DHS says he is being held pending removal proceedings based on his immigration status.
University ‘greatly troubled’ as president urges release
The university has disputed the picture painted by federal officials, saying it was “greatly troubled” by the arrest. “Dr. Kibret has a valid Work Authorization, so it is our hope that any issues surrounding his status will be quickly resolved and that he will be permitted to continue his work at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy,” its statement said.
It went on: “Dr. Kibret is a highly valued member of the University of Maryland, Baltimore community. He is an effective and beloved teacher, and a highly regarded colleague. His detention has generated not only great sympathy for his plight, but also a heightened sense of apprehension here on campus.”
In a news release, the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s president, Dr Bruce Jarrell, publicly called for his release, describing him as “an exceptional educator and researcher” whose detention had deeply affected the campus community, and said the institution was working with legal counsel and elected officials. Support has spread beyond the university: a Change.org petition titled “Free Dr. Berhanu Kibret”, launched by faculty and students, urges ICE to release him and highlights his contributions to pharmacy education and addiction research, drawing thousands of signatures within days. The AACP has also voiced concern, saying it is monitoring the situation, pointing to his recent national teaching award and expressing support for due process.
Dr Kibret joined the School of Pharmacy’s faculty in 2023, having previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at William Paterson University. According to his university faculty profile, his research centres on substance-use disorders and cannabinoid receptor biology, including studies of the neurological effects of drugs of abuse and potential therapeutic interventions aimed at improving treatments for addiction.
Second Maryland academic detained within a week
His case is the second in a matter of days involving a Maryland-based academic. Fatima Ameaka, a Johns Hopkins University researcher and native of Cameroon, was detained by federal immigration officers on 28 July as she boarded a domestic flight at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport. She was released from a detention facility in Texas on Friday night, and her attorney, Benjamin Osorio, confirmed to CBS Baltimore that she had since arrived back in Maryland.
