Latest news with #Bajgani
Los Angeles Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
International students in Alabama fearful after researcher with no political ties is detained
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani and her fiance, Alireza Doroudi, had just spent an evening celebrating the Persian new year at the University of Alabama when seven armed immigration officers came to their apartment before dawn and arrested Doroudi. In a moment, the young couple's life was upended. 'I was living a normal life until that night. After that nothing is just normal,' Bajgani said. Details about Doroudi's detention spread through the small Iranian community in Tuscaloosa, where Bajgani and Doroudi are doctoral students. Other Iranian students say they have been informally advised by faculty to 'lay low' and 'be invisible' — instilling fear among a once vibrant cohort. Doroudi is among students across the U.S. who have been detained in recent weeks as part of President Trump's immigration crackdown. Bajgani said the couple does not know why Doroudi — who has no criminal record or public political views — faces deportation, adding that Trump's recent visit to the school made her feel like the university was 'ignorant of our crisis.' One Iranian civil engineering student and close friend to Doroudi said he has lost more than 10 pounds due to stress and depression in the six weeks since Doroudi was detained. 'It's like all of us are waiting for our turn. It could be every knock, every email could be deportation,' said the student, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about losing his legal status. He now avoids unnecessary trips outside. When he was in a car crash last month, he begged the other driver not to call the police, even though he wasn't at fault, because he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Bajgani said Doroudi, 32, is an ambitious mechanical engineering student from Shiraz, Iran. He entered the United States legally in January 2023 on a student visa. Bajgani said he often worked 60-hour weeks while still making time to run errands for loved ones. 'If someone like him doesn't get to the place he deserves, there is nothing called the American dream,' she said. Doroudi's visa was revoked in June 2023, but the embassy didn't provide a reason and ignored his inquiries, Bajgani said. The university told him he could stay as long as he remained a student but that he would not be allowed to reenter the U.S. if he left, she said. He was operating under that guidance when immigration officers came to the couple's door in March. The University of Alabama didn't comment on Doroudi's case, but said it offers resources to help immigrants on campus comply with federal law. It also offers guidance to students whose visas are revoked. 'Our international students are valued members of our campus community,' university spokesperson Monica Watts said in a statement. Doroudi told Bajgani he spent three days in a county jail, sleeping on a tile floor and feeling panicked. He is now in a Louisiana immigration detention facility more than 300 miles from Tuscaloosa while he awaits a deportation hearing scheduled for next week. At least one other high-profile international student is there. 'I didn't deserve this. If they had just sent me a letter asking me to appear in court, I would've come, because I didn't do anything illegal. I stayed with their permission,' Doroudi said in a letter he dictated to Bajgani over the phone to provide his perspective to others. 'What was the reason for throwing me in jail?' More than 1,000 international students across the U.S. have had their visas or legal status revoked since late March, according to an Associated Press review of university statements and correspondence with school officials. They included some who protested Israel's war in Gaza. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has since reversed those revocations, including those of four University of Alabama students. 'University staff closely monitors changes that could affect them and has communicated updates related to new protocols and procedures,' Watts said. A Louisiana judge who denied Doroudi bond in mid-April said he didn't sufficiently prove that he wasn't a national security threat, Doroudi's lawyer, David Rozas said. Rozas said he was 'flabbergasted' because the government hasn't presented evidence that Doroudi is a threat, though that is what the Department of Homeland Security has alleged. International students make up more than 13% of the statewide University of Alabama graduate program, according to the school's website. More than 100 Iranian students attend the university, according to an estimate from the Iranian Student Assn. Every year, many gather for a picnic to celebrate Sizdah Bedar, the 13th day of the Persian new year, which begins with spring. This year, the typically festive holiday 'felt like a funeral service,' one Iranian doctoral student said. At one point, silence fell over the group as a police car passed. 'It's becoming too hard to be living here, to be yourself and thrive,' said the student, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she fears retaliation. She has criticized the Iranian regime since arriving in the United States more than five years ago, so she suspects she is no longer safe in her home country. Now, she has those same doubts in Alabama. 'All of a sudden it feels like we're returning back to Iran again,' she said. Riddle writes for the Associated Press.
09-05-2025
- Politics
Iranian student in Alabama to self-deport despite withdrawal of initial charge
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- An Iranian mechanical engineering student at the University of Alabama has decided to self-deport after six weeks in a Louisiana detention center despite the government dropping a charge behind his initial arrest, his lawyer and fiancee said. Alireza Doroudi was detained by immigration officials in March as part of President Donald Trump's widespread immigration crackdown and has been held at a facility in Jena, Louisiana, over 300 miles (480 kilometers) from where he lived with his fiancee in Alabama. At the time the State Department said Doroudi posed 'significant national security concerns.' Doroudi's lawyer, David Rozas, said the government has not offered any evidence to support that claim, however. Doroudi's visa was revoked in June 2023. Officials did not give a reason and ignored numerous inquiries from him that year, according to his fiancee, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani. Back then the University of Alabama advised Doroudi that he was legally allowed to stay but would not be allowed to re-enter if he left, Bajgani added. This spring the government filed two charges against Doroudi to justify deporting him, saying his visa was revoked and he was not 'in status' as a student, Rozas said. On Thursday a U.S. government attorney withdrew the first of those and said the visa revocation was 'prudential,' meaning it would not go into effect until after he leaves the country — in line with what the university told Doroudi earlier. Rozas said he has submitted evidence disputing the remaining accusation, that he is not an active student. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the case, including Rozas' characterization of the initial arrest as an error. The judge in the case, Maithe Gonzalez, gave both sides until the end of May to refile motions and denied Doroudi's request to redetermine eligibility for bond. Doroudi decided to give up rather than continue to fight deportation. 'He told me that if they let him to go out, there was a good chance that he would have fought his case for the sake of other students and for the sake of himself,' Bajgani said afterward by phone. 'They just want to make him tired so he can deport himself.' Bajgani, who drove 11 hours round-trip to attend the hourlong hearing, echoed Rozas' confusion about why Doroudi was targeted for deportation, saying he has no criminal record, entered the country legally and was not politically outspoken like other students who have been targeted. She affectionately described her fiance as a 'nerd' and 'a really big thinker' who spent long days in the lab and enjoys anime. He does not deserve what happened to him, she said, and now the life they built in Alabama is over. 'I am not happy about the whole thing that happened to us, and I need time to grieve for what I am going to put behind and leave,' Bajgani said. 'All the dreams, friendships and dreams we had with each other.' In a letter to Bajgani from behind bars in April, Doroudi called his detention a 'pure injustice.' 'I didn't cause any trouble in this country,' he said. 'I didn't enter illegally. I followed all the legal paths.' Rozas said he has not seen such a case in his 21 years as an immigration attorney. He accused authorities of denying his client due process and forcing him to choose between indefinite detention and self-deporting. 'I'm absolutely devastated,' Rozas said, 'and I think it's a travesty of justice.'
San Francisco Chronicle
09-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Iranian student in Alabama to self-deport despite withdrawal of initial charge behind his arrest
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Iranian mechanical engineering student at the University of Alabama has decided to self-deport after six weeks in a Louisiana detention center despite the government dropping a charge behind his initial arrest, his lawyer and fiancee said. Alireza Doroudi was detained by immigration officials in March as part of President Donald Trump's widespread immigration crackdown and has been held at a facility in Jena, Louisiana, over 300 miles (480 kilometers) from where he lived with his fiancee in Alabama. At the time the State Department said Doroudi posed 'significant national security concerns.' Doroudi's lawyer, David Rozas, said the government has not offered any evidence to support that claim, however. Doroudi's visa was revoked in June 2023. Officials did not give a reason and ignored numerous inquiries from him that year, according to his fiancee, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani. Back then the University of Alabama advised Doroudi that he was legally allowed to stay but would not be allowed to re-enter if he left, Bajgani added. This spring the government filed two charges against Doroudi to justify deporting him, saying his visa was revoked and he was not 'in status' as a student, Rozas said. On Thursday a U.S. government attorney withdrew the first of those and said the visa revocation was 'prudential,' meaning it would not go into effect until after he leaves the country — in line with what the university told Doroudi earlier. Rozas said he has submitted evidence disputing the remaining accusation, that he is not an active student. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the case, including Rozas' characterization of the initial arrest as an error. The judge in the case, Maithe Gonzalez, gave both sides until the end of May to refile motions and denied Doroudi's request to redetermine eligibility for bond. Doroudi decided to give up rather than continue to fight deportation. 'He told me that if they let him to go out, there was a good chance that he would have fought his case for the sake of other students and for the sake of himself,' Bajgani said afterward by phone. 'They just want to make him tired so he can deport himself.' Bajgani, who drove 11 hours round-trip to attend the hourlong hearing, echoed Rozas' confusion about why Doroudi was targeted for deportation, saying he has no criminal record, entered the country legally and was not politically outspoken like other students who have been targeted. She affectionately described her fiance as a 'nerd' and 'a really big thinker' who spent long days in the lab and enjoys anime. He does not deserve what happened to him, she said, and now the life they built in Alabama is over. 'I am not happy about the whole thing that happened to us, and I need time to grieve for what I am going to put behind and leave,' Bajgani said. 'All the dreams, friendships and dreams we had with each other.' In a letter to Bajgani from behind bars in April, Doroudi called his detention a 'pure injustice.' 'I didn't cause any trouble in this country,' he said. 'I didn't enter illegally. I followed all the legal paths.' Rozas said he has not seen such a case in his 21 years as an immigration attorney. He accused authorities of denying his client due process and forcing him to choose between indefinite detention and self-deporting. 'I'm absolutely devastated,' Rozas said, 'and I think it's a travesty of justice.' ___
Hamilton Spectator
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Iranian student in Alabama to self-deport despite withdrawal of initial charge behind his arrest
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Iranian mechanical engineering student at the University of Alabama has decided to self-deport after six weeks in a Louisiana detention center despite the government dropping a charge behind his initial arrest, his lawyer and fiancee said. Alireza Doroudi was detained by immigration officials in March as part of President Donald Trump's widespread immigration crackdown and has been held at a facility in Jena, Louisiana, over 300 miles (480 kilometers) from where he lived with his fiancee in Alabama. At the time the State Department said Doroudi posed 'significant national security concerns.' Doroudi's lawyer, David Rozas, said the government has not offered any evidence to support that claim, however. Doroudi's visa was revoked in June 2023. Officials did not give a reason and ignored numerous inquiries from him that year, according to his fiancee, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani. Back then the University of Alabama advised Doroudi that he was legally allowed to stay but would not be allowed to re-enter if he left, Baigani added. This spring the government filed two charges against Doroudi to justify deporting him, saying his visa was revoked and he was not 'in status' as a student, Rozas said. On Thursday a U.S. government attorney withdrew the first of those and said the visa revocation was 'prudential,' meaning it would not go into effect until after he leaves the country — in line with what the university told Doroudi earlier. Rozas said he has submitted evidence disputing the remaining accusation, that he is not an active student. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the case, including Rozas' characterization of the initial arrest as an error. The judge in the case, Maithe Gonzalez, gave both sides until the end of May to refile motions and denied Doroudi's request to redetermine eligibility for bond. Doroudi decided to give up rather than continue to fight deportation. 'He told me that if they let him to go out, there was a good chance that he would have fought his case for the sake of other students and for the sake of himself,' Bajgani said afterward by phone. 'They just want to make him tired so he can deport himself.' Bajgani, who drove 11 hours round-trip to attend the hourlong hearing, echoed Rozas' confusion about why Doroudi was targeted for deportation, saying he has no criminal record, entered the country legally and was not politically outspoken like other students who have been targeted. She affectionately described her fiance as a 'nerd' and 'a really big thinker' who spent long days in the lab and enjoys anime. He does not deserve what happened to him, she said, and now the life they built in Alabama is over. 'I am not happy about the whole thing that happened to us, and I need time to grieve for what I am going to put behind and leave,' Baigani said. 'All the dreams, friendships and dreams we had with each other.' In a letter to Bajgani from behind bars in April, Doroudi called his detention a 'pure injustice.' 'I didn't cause any trouble in this country,' he said. 'I didn't enter illegally. I followed all the legal paths.' Rozas said he has not seen such a case in his 21 years as an immigration attorney. He accused authorities of denying his client due process and forcing him to choose between indefinite detention and self-deporting. 'I'm absolutely devastated,' Rozas said, 'and I think it's a travesty of justice.' ___ Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Winnipeg Free Press
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Iranian student in Alabama to self-deport despite withdrawal of initial charge behind his arrest
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Iranian mechanical engineering student at the University of Alabama has decided to self-deport after six weeks in a Louisiana detention center despite the government dropping a charge behind his initial arrest, his lawyer and fiancee said. Alireza Doroudi was detained by immigration officials in March as part of President Donald Trump's widespread immigration crackdown and has been held at a facility in Jena, Louisiana, over 300 miles (480 kilometers) from where he lived with his fiancee in Alabama. At the time the State Department said Doroudi posed 'significant national security concerns.' Doroudi's lawyer, David Rozas, said the government has not offered any evidence to support that claim, however. Doroudi's visa was revoked in June 2023. Officials did not give a reason and ignored numerous inquiries from him that year, according to his fiancee, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani. Back then the University of Alabama advised Doroudi that he was legally allowed to stay but would not be allowed to re-enter if he left, Baigani added. This spring the government filed two charges against Doroudi to justify deporting him, saying his visa was revoked and he was not 'in status' as a student, Rozas said. On Thursday a U.S. government attorney withdrew the first of those and said the visa revocation was 'prudential,' meaning it would not go into effect until after he leaves the country — in line with what the university told Doroudi earlier. Rozas said he has submitted evidence disputing the remaining accusation, that he is not an active student. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the case, including Rozas' characterization of the initial arrest as an error. The judge in the case, Maithe Gonzalez, gave both sides until the end of May to refile motions and denied Doroudi's request to redetermine eligibility for bond. Doroudi decided to give up rather than continue to fight deportation. 'He told me that if they let him to go out, there was a good chance that he would have fought his case for the sake of other students and for the sake of himself,' Bajgani said afterward by phone. 'They just want to make him tired so he can deport himself.' Bajgani, who drove 11 hours round-trip to attend the hourlong hearing, echoed Rozas' confusion about why Doroudi was targeted for deportation, saying he has no criminal record, entered the country legally and was not politically outspoken like other students who have been targeted. She affectionately described her fiance as a 'nerd' and 'a really big thinker' who spent long days in the lab and enjoys anime. He does not deserve what happened to him, she said, and now the life they built in Alabama is over. 'I am not happy about the whole thing that happened to us, and I need time to grieve for what I am going to put behind and leave,' Baigani said. 'All the dreams, friendships and dreams we had with each other.' In a letter to Bajgani from behind bars in April, Doroudi called his detention a 'pure injustice.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'I didn't cause any trouble in this country,' he said. 'I didn't enter illegally. I followed all the legal paths.' Rozas said he has not seen such a case in his 21 years as an immigration attorney. He accused authorities of denying his client due process and forcing him to choose between indefinite detention and self-deporting. 'I'm absolutely devastated,' Rozas said, 'and I think it's a travesty of justice.' ___ Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
