An assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, Vahid Abedini, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at an airport and held for three days before being released, university colleagues and the professor said. Abedini, a named hire on an H‑1B visa in the university’s Middle East studies program, was en route to a professional conference when federal agents took custody. Colleagues say the arrest—and the DHS description of the stop as "standard questioning"—is the first widely publicized detention of a tenure-track faculty member in recent memory, raising new concerns among international hires and sponsored positions about vetting and visa security. Legal and immigration experts told reporters that detaining someone with pending visa paperwork is unusual and could chill recruiting of foreign scholars. The episode highlights operational and reputational risks for institutions that host visa-sponsored faculty, particularly programs with named chairs funded by major donors. Campus leaders will need clearer communications and legal plans for supporting internationally based scholars as enforcement actions expand.