General
“Say it once. Say it twice. Free Doroudi. No more ICE!”
Those were some of the chants heard as more than 100 people marched and chanted in front of Tuscaloosa’s Richard Shelby Federal Courthouse on Monday to protest the detainment of an Iranian doctoral student from the University of Alabama.
Organizations including UA’s College Democrats, Tuscaloosa County Democratic Party, UA’s International Student Association and Grace Presbyterian Church gathered to speak about Alireza Doroudi’s detainment.
Doroudi, a mechanical engineering student, was detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement at about 3 a.m. on March 25 in an apartment he shared with his fiancée, Sama Bajgani.
“We decided to put boots on the ground and get ready, because we knew something like this would have to happen,” said Braden Vick, a senior studying political science and president of UA’s College Democrats.
He said the ultimate goal is to free Doroudi and get him back to his fiancé. He said the “most terrifying part” is they don’t know why a respected researcher like Doroudi is in custody.
“We can only speculate that this was a fundamentally racist and bigoted act by ICE,” Vick said.
A mathematics and computer science senior heard about the protest in the student newspaper, The Crimson White.
“I have been wanting to get more politically active for a while, and (because of school) it’s something I’ve kind of pushed aside,” he said. “So I’ve decided to come out.”
Doroudi was sent to Pickens County Jail then transferred to a federal detention center in Jena, La.
“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 has said.
Doroudi’s attorney, David Rozas also said ”he is legally present in the U.S., pursuing his American dream by working towards his doctorate in mechanical engineering.”
Bajgani organized a GoFundMe fundraiser for her fiancée’s legal fees and raised more than $25,000.
In an update to donors, she said Doroudi had an F-1 visa “unexpectedly revoked” six months after he came to the United States.
“As soon as he got the revocation email, he inquired with the university officials, who assured him that his student status would remain valid, allowing him to continue his studies at the University of Alabama legally,” Bajgani said.
While several students from college campuses nationwide have been detained for supporting pro-Palestinian causes, a student organization said Doroudi wasn’t involved in their protests.
Students for Justice in Palestine said in a statement on Instagram that they were “outraged to learn” about Doroudi’s detainment but wanted to “express that Doroudi was not involved, nor has he ever been involved, in any organizing or protest related to our organization.”
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