She was supposed to be planning her wedding, but now, Sama Bajgani is planning how she is going to get her fiancé out of jail.

Earlier this week, Alireza Doroudi, a University of Alabama doctoral student originally from Iran, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He had been held at the Pickens County Jail, according to public records, before he was to be transferred to federal custody in Jena, La.

On Friday morning, a person who answered the phone at the jail said he was no longer being held there.

Federal records state only that he is in custody of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It was not clear where he is now detained.

Bajgani said it was “traumatizing” to witness ICE officers take her fiancé out of their Tuscaloosa apartment at about 5 a.m. Tuesday.

“I’m sure it was traumatizing to everyone else [in the complex] too, because they could all hear the knocks and the sounds,” she said.

Public records from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement do not detail any specifics on why Doroudi was detained.

“ICE HSI made this arrest in accordance with the State Department’s revocation of Doroudi’s student visa. This individual posed significant national security concerns,” a DHS spokesperson said.

The downtown apartment complex is home to many other migrant families. Many refused to speak on record but said they were shaken by the event.

The property manager for the apartments, who witnessed the arrest, declined to comment.

Bajgani has set up a GoFundMe to help with Doroudi’s legal expenses.

She shared that the couple had been planning to get married in two months, but now all of her focus is on ensuring Doroudi’s freedom.

“If something like this can happen to such a hardworking and harmless student – it makes us all wonder if it could happen to anyone,” Doroudi’s friend, Sam Saberi, told CBS 42.

“The entire international student community is confused and unsettled,” Saberi told the station.

The National Iranian American Council, an advocacy organization, issued a statement on March 27.

“We are deeply disturbed by the arrest of Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, by ICE agents,” it reads.

“At a minimum, ICE must make his whereabouts known and make clear if he has been charged with any crime. If not, he should be immediately released.”

The University of Alabama enrolled about 1,200 international students in the fall 2024 semester, according to a recent report, and 90 of those students were from Iran.

Across Alabama, about 9,000 international students were enrolled at different universities, according to the Alabama Council on Higher Education.

University of Alabama guidelines for international student orientation say that students may have an expired visa as long as they maintain their studies.

The school’s International Students and Scholars Service supports people on F-1 and J-1 visas.

AL.com contacted the ISSS office who directed comments to the university’s communications office.

The University of Alabama College Democrats issued the following statement.

“Donald Trump, [ICE Acting Director] Tom Homan and ICE have struck a cold vicious dagger through the heart of UA’s international community,” the organization wrote.

“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 across the country.”

ICE agents may be in public spaces on university campuses. They typically need a warrant in order to enter private spaces, such as a home or residence hall.

AL.com reporter Williesha Morris contributed to this report.