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."
Recommended
How much peace and quiet and privacy will he have in Bangladesh? We don't really care.
Good?
— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) April 16, 2026
Drunk driver and thief; if his student visa wasn't cancelled due to his lapse in classes any efforts at an LPR or naturalization would have been denied anyway.
— Jay (@OneFineJay) April 16, 2026
It's good for him to be back home where he belongs.
Cool. Well done ICE. Now repeat 30,000,000 more times.
— 🇺🇸 Afterseven (@Afterseven) April 16, 2026
This is a feature not a bug.
— Ambitious Peregrination (@AmbitiousP21212) April 16, 2026
Working as intended.
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
— Mike Young (@MikeYoungEsq) April 16, 2026
— 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.
***