Newsweek: Student Self-Deports After Enduring ‘Inhumane’ ICE Conditions

Finally, someone took DHS's advice and self-deported. Newsweek reports that an international student from Bangladesh didn't want to, but felt he had to after months of "inhumane" detention in an ICE facility.

"I gave up and chose to self-deport, not because I wanted to but because I felt like I had no other choice," the student said. https://t.co/OB0HxdSPNQ
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) April 15, 2026

Let's see what Newsweek isn't telling us. Billal Rahman reports:

A former international student from Bangladesh told Newsweek he self-deported from the United States after months in immigration detention that he described as "inhumane."
…
Joytu Chowdhury, a 24-year-old former student at Illinois Wesleyan University majoring in finance with a minor in computer science, said he self-deported on February 26 after what he described as a prolonged and emotionally taxing immigration process.
Chowdhury entered the United States on an F-1 student visa in December 2021 and said he was pursuing a path toward completing his studies and continuing legal immigration processes, including potential permanent residency options.
"In August 2025, his student visa status was terminated. Chowdhury's criminal history includes convictions for driving under the influence and retail theft," a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek.

Chowdhury "alleged inconsistent access to drinking water, saying detainees sometimes had to wait extended periods for necessities. He also described food as repetitive and lacking nutritional value and said overcrowded, noisy conditions made it difficult to sleep, with lights often left on and little sense of privacy."

You actually didn’t have another choice - your feeling was correct. If you aren’t authorized to be in a country, you must return to your country of origin. That’s how this works. It’s called “the law.” Fascinating concept for a lot of people these days
— JordanBell54 (@JordanBell54) April 16, 2026

Your headline says he was a student visa holder. His student visa was revoked for criminal activity.
— Matt Wright (@mattwr) April 16, 2026

Perfect! We’re a nation of laws just like every other country in the world.
— NiKKi (@NikkiCush) April 16, 2026

Good. Hopefully, there will be millions to follow. We don't want you. Save the sob stories and just get out.
— John Smith (@smith_john45146) April 16, 2026

Well he came here on a student visa (probably had most if not all his school paid for and then some) and with all of that, still decided to steal and drive drunk. Good riddance
— B (@trashreality365) April 16, 2026

pic.twitter.com/tiJN2JdIIs
— Mike Young (@MikeYoungEsq) April 16, 2026

pic.twitter.com/BzRbH6Bi3a
— Ghost_AwyeeDeaterBob (@GHOSTawyeeBOB) April 16, 2026

Deporting drunk-driving thieves is good, actually. You worked awfully hard to make the characters in this play sound sympathetic and I want you to know that you utterly failed at that task
— Uubzu v4 (@uubzu) April 16, 2026

Yes. You have no other choice if you don’t want to be arrested, just like anyone else caught doing illegal things. That’s right.
— NeedsSalt (@StilNotHavin_It) April 16, 2026

If Newsweek was trying to come up with a sob story, it didn't work. How did they manage to talk to him, anyway? We always wonder how these stories find their way into the mainstream media.

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Editor’s Note: We voted for mass deportations, not mass amnesty. Help us continue to fight back against those trying to go against the will of the American people.

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