Groups Gather to Protest for Alireza Doroudi, UA Doctoral Student Taken by ICE

A diverse crowd of several dozen protestors gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown Tuscaloosa to publicly support an Iranian University of Alabama doctoral student who was taken by federal immigration authorities last week.

As the Thread previously reported, the University of Alabama has confirmed that one of their doctoral students was arrested off-campus by ICE agents before dawn Tuesday morning.

That student is Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian national who has been studying at UA since early 2023. Citing a group chat of international students, the Crimson White first reported that Doroudi's visa was revoked about six months after his arrival. From the same source, they also report that the University's own International Student and Scholar Services that his case was not unusual and he could remain in the US as long as he was a student at UA.

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The Crimson White also obtained a statement from the Department of Homeland Security saying Doroudi " posed significant national security concerns," but not detailing them.

On Monday afternoon, UA students were joined by members of the local Democratic party, congregants from Grace Presbyterian Church and the Tuscaloosa United Church of Christ and others to protest for Doroudi's release from the detention facility in Louisiana where he is reportedly being held. 

The protestors called for Doroudi's immediate release from custody so he can defend himself legally from the allegations made against him and for the University of Alabama to do more to visibly support their international students.

"UA, stand up for your students!" said Braden Vick, the president of the UA College Democrats, who helped organize the protest and march. "We rise and demand from our University that you stand up for Alireza Doroudi, that you demand the freedom of Alireza Doroudi and that you fight for every single one of the 40,000 plus students at this University."

The protestors heard from a robust group of speakers, including Jessica Perez, a policy fellow at the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice.

"Alireza was targeted and forcibly detained by Immigration and Enforcement without ever getting the opportunity to resolve any misunderstanding about his visa status," she said. "This immediate arrest, this choice to use force instead of offering assistance, reflects a cruelty that no human being deserves.and an abuse of power that disregards the immeasurable value that international students have to our campus community."

Full footage of the protest is below.

The crowd also marched around the Richard Shelby Federal Building and Courthouse and chanted in support of the detained student and against his arrest and detention by ICE.

After issuing a statement to confirm the arrest, the University of Alabama has not commented further on the matter and has so far not answered questions from the Thread about if other students are in the same situation as Doroudi and, if so, if they may be at risk of arrest themselves.

For more coverage of news in west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.