Bond Denied for Iranian UA Doctoral Student Taken by ICE Last Month

An Iranian University of Alabama doctoral student who was taken away from his Tuscaloosa apartment by federal immigration police last week has been denied bond in a Thursday hearing.

Alireza Doroudi will remain in federal custody in Jena, Louisiana from where he may eventually be deported to Iran.

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As the Thread has previously reported, Doroudi arrived here in January 2023 and was earning his doctorate in engineering from the University of Alabama.

His F-1 student visa was allegedly revoked not long after he arrived, but he was reportedly told by UA's International Student & Scholar Services that his situation was not unusual and he could remain in the US as long as he was still a student.

ICE's own website tells anyone whose F-1 student visa is expired, "You can stay in the United States on an expired F-1 visa as long as you maintain your student status," but it is not clear if Doroudi's visa had expired or was intentionally revoked for some other cause.

After he was taken from his apartment in Tuscaloosa, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told local media that the student posed “significant national security concerns,” but has not elaborated as to how.

According to reporting from CBS 42, in a Thursday bond hearing, Immigration Judge Maithe González denied Doroudi's bond and said he failed to prove he was not a security threat.

Doroudi and his attorney, David Rozas, will reportedly appeal the decision and have another bond hearing later this month.