An Iranian Student in U.S. Detention Makes a Hard Choice: Stay or Go Home

New York Times

15-05-2025

On the 42nd day of his confinement at an immigration detention center in the pine woods of central Louisiana, Alireza Doroudi seemed to be on the verge of getting out.
A few minutes before his latest immigration hearing last Thursday, the government said it was dropping one of the charges against him. Other international students who, like him, had been detained by the authorities were being released, one by one.
But shortly before the hearing began, Mr. Doroudi's fiancée, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani, one of the few people who had come to watch, was not hopeful. 'I don't think I can trust anything, to be honest,' she whispered.
A native of Iran, Mr. Doroudi, 32, had been in the country doing doctoral work in mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama. He had no run-ins with the law beyond a couple of traffic citations.
But early in the morning on March 25, U.S. immigration agents showed up at Mr. Doroudi's apartment in Tuscaloosa and took him into custody.
At the time of the arrest, authorities told the news media that Mr. Doroudi posed 'significant national security concerns.' They never elaborated, even in court, Mr. Doroudi's lawyer said. The charges against him only concerned his legal status as an international student.
International students are given visas that allows them to enter the United States, where they then must follow certain rules to stay in the country legally. Mr. Doroudi's case involved two charges: that he was illegally in the country because his visa had been revoked, and that since then, he had failed to maintain legal status to remain in the United States. Mr. Doroudi's lawyer said the visa applied only to his entry into the country — that is, he could not now leave and come back — and that university records showed that he had never lost legal status, even throughout his detention.
Nearly 2,000 students have had their visas canceled by the Trump administration, often related to minor violations, like speeding tickets. Students have challenged the revocations in court, and many visas were restored in recent weeks.
Mr. Doroudi's case was different. His case was one of a handful where the Trump administration cited national security concerns. Some of those students had been outspoken about the Palestinian cause, but it was unclear how Mr. Doroudi, whose fiancée said he was not involved in politics, had drawn the notice of the federal government.
The other cases had prompted protests over criticism that the Trump administration was violating civil rights. There was Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and a legal permanent resident who was detained in early March. And Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student, who was being held in a detention facility in southern Louisiana. Ms. Ozturk, who was apparently targeted because of a pro-Palestinian essay she co-wrote, was ordered to be released by a federal judge on Friday and walked out of detention to cheering supporters and assembled media.
Mr. Doroudi's case did not attract the same attention.
Hs lawyer, David Rozas, one of Louisiana's few immigration layers, had urged him to fight his detention in federal court.
Mr. Doroudi did not want to. He missed his studies and was not doing well spending his days in a loud group dormitory behind fences and razor wire, his fiancée said. He told her that his vision and hearing were deteriorating, and that his mental health was suffering. And he had grown convinced, his lawyer said, that no matter what happened, the authorities would never let him out.
Mr. Rozas said he had been seeing this more and more from clients in detention. People with strong cases for release, some of whom had lived in the United States for years, were giving up, as hearings were delayed for weeks and as they got the feeling that the country simply did not want them.
But as Mr. Rozas prepared to walk into the hearing for Mr. Doroudi on Thursday, he received an email with some good news. The government had acknowledged in a filing that it did not have evidence to support the charge Mr. Doroudi had been arrested on. It was possible that he could walk free that day.
Courtroom 4, one of several immigration hearing rooms along a narrow hall inside the detention facility, was small, with walls of painted cinder block. The seven benches in the galley were almost empty.
Ms. Bajgani entered and smiled at her fiancé, who sat at the defense table in loose prison clothes.
He looked like he had lost weight, she whispered. Ms. Bajgani had been telling Mr. Doroudi's parents back in Iran, who were beside themselves with worry, that everything would work out. She was not sure she believed that anymore.
'I don't think this is very hopeful,' Ms. Bajgani said.
Judge Maithe Gonzalez entered the courtroom. Within minutes, she said she would sustain the first charge against Mr. Doroudi and was ordering his removal.
After some back and forth, and some prodding from Mr. Rozas, Numa Metoyer, a lawyer for the Department of Homeland Security, explained to the judge that the government had actually been planning to drop that charge, concerning the revocation of the visa. The lawyers had reviewed the evidence and found it did not apply in Mr. Doroudi's case utnil he left the country. But he said that a second charge was still viable, concerning Mr. Doroudi's current immigration status.
Mr. Rozas leaned over to Mr. Doroudi. The second charge wouldn't stand, he whispered. His status was all in order. In federal court, 'you win, 100 percent,' he said.
Mr. Doroudi shook his head. 'No, no, no,' he whispered.
The judge insisted that the government put this into writing. She announced there would be another hearing in Mr. Doroudi's case, in two weeks.
'No, no,' Mr. Doroudi whispered.
Mr. Rozas asked the judge if Mr. Doroudi could be released on bond, but the judge cut him off. 'That's not the way this works,' she said.
Mr. Rozas looked at his client, and then turned to the judge. Mr. Doroudi was requesting to voluntarily leave the country. This was against his advice, Mr. Rozas said. But Mr. Doroudi had had enough.
Judge Gonzalez asked Mr. Doroudi if this was really what he wanted.
'I came here for studying in one of the best countries in the world,' he began, but she cut him off.
She told him he needed to answer yes or no.
'Honestly, I don't want to stay here anymore,' he said. 'This place is not good for me. I want to go home.'
The judge interrupted again. Yes or no?
'Yes,' he said. Ms. Bajgani nodded her head in agreement.
'You have been granted the privilege of voluntarily departing the United States,' Judge Gonzalez said, and then went over some of the logistical details.
'Is this a final decision for you?' she asked.
'Thank you,' Mr. Doroudi said.
'Is that a yes?'
'Yes, your honor.'
She then adjourned the court.