• Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian doctoral student at the University of Alabama, was detained by ICE at his off-campus residence.
• The reason for Doroudi’s arrest remains unclear, and ICE has not provided any justification for their actions.
• The University of Alabama released a statement acknowledging the situation but citing federal privacy laws as a reason for limited information.
• This incident follows a pattern of recent arrests and deportation orders targeting college students and graduates, raising concerns about potential political motivations.
• Legal challenges against these actions are underway, with some judges questioning the government’s evidence and asserting violations of First Amendment rights.

University of Alabama student Alireza Doroudi was arrested at his home about 5 a.m. Tuesday, according to a story that was first reported in the campus paper The Crimson White. The doctoral candidate from Iran, studying mechanical engineering, is being detained, off-campus by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

Records on ICE’s website indicate an Alireza Douroudi, with his country of birth listed as Iran, is currently “In ICE Custody.” Under that it says Current Detention Facility, with an asterisk-lead line below saying, “Click on the Detention Facility name to obtain facility contact information.” That function doesn’t seem to work, perhaps because there’s no name given to the detention facility.

It’s not yet been made availble why he was arrested, on what charges, or if Douroudi has a lawyer. Attempts to reach ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, by numerous members of the media including USA Today and The New York Times, have thus far been unsuccessful.

Roughly 12 hours after the arrest, at 5:47 p.m., UA released a statement, via Alex House, associate director of communications within its media relations division:

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“The University of Alabama recently learned that a doctoral student has been detained off campus by federal immigration authorities. Federal privacy laws limit what can be shared about an individual student.

“International students studying at the University are valued members of the campus community, and International Student and Scholar Services is available to assist international students who have questions.

“UA has and will continue to follow all immigration laws and cooperate with federal authorities.”

According to the CW, a group-chat message including Iranian students said Douroudi cleared all immigration checks, before entering the United States on an F-1 Student Visa issued by the U.S. Embassy in Oman, January 2023. The same message said he’d had his visa revoked six months after arrival, upon which Douroudi contacted ISSS, which “…replied with confidence, stating that his case was not unusual or problematic and that he could remainly in the U.S. legally as long as he retained his student status.”

The UA College Democrats released a statement, concluding that the UACD mission would remain “… to advocate for all corners of the UA community ….”

“Our fears have come to pass. Donald Trump, (border czar) Tom Homan and ICE have struck a cold, vicious dagger through the heart of UA’s international community,” the message, shared on social media, read.

“As far as we know right now, ICE is yet to provide any justification for their actions, so we are not sure if this persecution is politically motivated, as has been seen in other universities around the country.”

In recent weeks, other college students and recent college graduates have been arrested, or have had federal warrants issued for their arrest. Among them are Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University doctoral candidate from Turkey, arrested earlier this week for, according to Homeland Security, “glorifying and supporting terrorists,” adding she’d shown support for Hamas, the militant Palestinian political party.

Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, despite holding a green card, is being held in Louisiana, and faces deportation. A 21-year-old permanent U.S. resident, another Columbia student, Yunseo Chung, had also faced a deportation order, but U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday against the federal government.

Her lawyers called it a case of outrageous “shocking overreach.” The lawsuit named President Donald Trump and other cabinet members as defendants, along with acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons, and acting ICE New York Field Office Director William P. Joyce.

It read, in part, “The government’s actions are an unprecedented and unjustifiable assault on First Amendment and other rights, one that cannot stand basic legal scrutiny.”

Judge Buchwald said the government had not provided sufficient evidence to support its claims.

Chung and her family have lived in the U.S. since she was 7 years old. They’re originally from South Korea.

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at[email protected].