- Samuel Tunick faced consequences at Georgia State University and a federal charge after a border search incident at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Six hours before Samuel Tunick was due to run his first Geosciences lab at Georgia State University, an automated email arrived: he had not passed the required background check. The TA position was gone, and with it his tuition waiver.
No conviction triggered the rescission. A pending federal charge did.
What Happened at Hartsfield-Jackson
A vacation, a secondary inspection, and a screen that went blank set the stage for what prosecutors would later call a federal crime.
On January 24, 2025, Tunick landed at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after a trip to the Dominican Republic. DHS reportedly flagged him in advance, and CBP directed him to secondary inspection…