University of Alabama student detained by ICE as State Department revokes visas

Earlier this week, Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral candidate studying mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama was reportedly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Doroudi, who is originally from Iran, was taken from his home at 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning and detained, according to the university’s student newspaper, The Crimson White. The university has since confirmed that one of its students was detained by ICE.

“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,” the university wrote in an official statement. “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.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that it had arrested Doroudi in an official statement provided to The Crimson White on Thursday.

“ICE HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) made this arrest in accordance with the State Department’s revocation of Doroudi’s student visa. This individual posed significant national security risk concerns,” the statement read. According to The Crimson White, the DHS spokesperson did not explain what those national security risk concerns entailed.

The Crimson White also confirmed on Thursday that Doroudi was currently being held at Pickens County Jail. The paper spoke with an employee at the jail who said that no charges were listed for Doroudi on jail records, but that the facility typically transfers ICE detainees to a detention facility in Louisiana.

According to a message sent in a group chat of Iranian students at the university which was later obtained by The Crimson White, Doroudi entered the U.S. in January 2023 on an F-1 student visa issued by the U.S. Embassy in Oman. Apparently, Doroudi’s visa was revoked six months after entering the U.S., but he was advised by the International Student and Scholar Services at the university that he could continue to stay in the country legally as long as he remained a student. At this time, the university’s International Center has not shared any more information concerning Doroudi’s visa.

The University of Alabama College Democrats released a statement on Wednesday decrying Doroudi’s arrest and the Trump administration’s repeated targeting of non-citizen students.

“Our fears have come to pass. Donald Trump, Tom Homan and ICE have struck a cold, vicious dagger through the heart of UA’s international community,” the group said. “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.”

Alabama for Progress, a grassroots progressive organization also posted a “Free Alireza Doroudi” graphic on their Instagram page on Thursday. “The issue of the extrajudicial state of ICE is no longer a distant issue. It has come to Alabama,” reads the post’s caption.

Additionally, Students for Justice in Palestine at UA stated that they were “outraged” to hear of Doroudi’s detainment. They also clarified that Doroudi “was not involved, nor has he ever been involved in any organizing or protests related to our organization.”

Doroudi’s fiance has also created a GoFundMe page to raise money for anticipated legal expenses. As of writing, the page has raised over $10,000 of its $12,000 goal.

Doroudi’s detainment is just the latest in a string of arrests made by ICE targeting international students across the U.S. — many of which appear to be in relation to student protests against the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on Gaza.

Just days before Doroudi’s detainment became public, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University in Somerville, Massachussets was surrounded in the street by ICE officials before being detained. Video of Ozturk’s arrest quickly went viral online, sparking outrage and calls for her release. Despite a court order mandating that Ozturk be kept in Massachussets, she is currently being held in Louisiana by ICE.

The Department of Homeland Security said that Ozturk was arrested for “glorifying and supporting terrorists”, claiming that the PhD student had shown support for Hamas, the Palestinian political party and militant group. Ozturk was one of four students who authored a March 2024 op-ed in the Tufts Daily student newspaper urging the university to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and “divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.” The article does not make any mention of Hamas.

Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil was also recently arrested by ICE in apparent relation to his activism related to Palestine. Khalil was also shipped across the country to be held in Louisiana where he faces deportation despite holding a green card. The Trump administration is also trying to deport Yunseo Chung, another Columbia student involved in pro-Palestine protests, but a judge ruled this week that she cannot be detained. Chung is a 21-year-old permanent U.S. resident.

Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown professor and post-doctoral student originally from India, was also detained by the Trump administration last week before a Virginia court prevented his deportation. Suri’s lawyers are currently working to get him released from custody.

The Trump administration’s actions have been lambasted by lawyers and critics as unconstitutional overreaches and blatant violations of the First Amendment’s right to free speech and assembly.

“The government’s actions are an unprecedented and unjustifiable assault on First Amendment and other rights, one that cannot stand basic legal scrutiny,” reads the lawsuit filed by Yunseo Chung’s lawyers to prevent her deportation.

“Ripping someone from their home and family, stripping them of their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint is a clear attempt by President Trump to silence dissent,” said Sophia Gregg, ACLU of Virginia Senior Immigrants’ Rights Attorney, in a statement related to Badar Khan Suri’s case. “That is patently unconstitutional.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently remarked that the U.S. has likely revoked the visas of over 300 international students “at this point,” indicating that more ICE detentions like Doroudi’s are to be expected in the near future.

“We do it every day, every time I find one of these lunatics,” Rubio said while speaking to reporters on a visit to Guyana.