During the Italian fascism, students of occupied countries were seduced with scholarships to Italian Universities, as long as they wore the black shirts i.e. adhered to the ideology of the fascists.

This case is extremely strange on several aspects. He received a visa from the US embassy where he lives, and it was vetted by them, why on earth does a border agent have more power than the US embassy? Imagine being 17 years old in a country all the way across the world and being treated like this.