Mahmoud Khalil, the first notable case of the Trump administration using forced disappearances to crack down criticism of Israel, took a leading role in last year’s campus protests; Runeysa Ozturk, detained Wednesday, once co-authored an op-ed advocating for “the equal dignity and humanity” of Palestinians. But it’s not known if Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian-born doctoral student at the University of Alabama who was seized by ICE agents Tuesday morning, had anything to do with pro-Palestine activism at all.
Nevertheless, his arrest and detention follows a familiar pattern of the federal government targeting noncitizens in higher education, particularly those of Middle Eastern descent.
Doroudi was identified by The Crimson White, a student newspaper, which said that he was studying mechanical engineering. He was arrested at his home at 5 a.m. Tuesday, according to the article posted Wednesday.
The university released a statement Wednesday confirming that Doroudi was “detained off campus by federal immigration authorities.” Due to federal privacy laws, the college couldn’t reveal any more details, but it said that international students are “valued members of the campus community.”
According ICE’s website, Doroudi is currently being held in a “detention facility.” It’s unknown whether he has been transferred to a location outside of the state. Both Khalil and Ozturk were whisked away to Louisiana shortly after their arrests, despite protestations from their lawyers.
The University of Alabama College Democrats released a statement on Wednesday that accused President Donald Trump and his administration of striking a “cold, vicious dagger through the heart of UA’s international community.”
“As far as we know right now,” the statement continued, “ICE is yet to provide any justification for their actions, so we are not sure if this persecution is politically motivated, as has been seen in other universities around the country.”
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