Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani and Alireza Doroudi were enjoying a festive evening celebrating the Persian new year at the University of Alabama when their lives were suddenly turned upside down. Seven armed immigration officers arrived at their apartment in the early hours of the morning and arrested Doroudi, Bajgani’s fiancé.
The news of Doroudi’s detention quickly spread through the small Iranian community in Tuscaloosa, where the couple are doctoral students. Other Iranian students in the area have been advised to “lay low” and “be invisible,” creating a sense of fear and uncertainty among the once vibrant cohort.
Doroudi is just one of many international students across the U.S. who have been detained in recent weeks as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Despite having no criminal record or public political views, Doroudi now faces deportation, leaving Bajgani and their friends shocked and devastated.
One close friend of Doroudi’s, an Iranian civil engineering student, shared that he has experienced significant weight loss due to stress and depression in the weeks since Doroudi’s detention. The fear of deportation looms over them all, with every knock on the door or email causing anxiety and uncertainty.
Doroudi, a dedicated mechanical engineering student from Shiraz, Iran, entered the U.S. legally on a student visa in January 2023. However, his visa was revoked in June 2023 without explanation, leaving him in a precarious position. Despite being advised by the university that he could stay as long as he remained a student, Doroudi was taken into custody by immigration officers in March.
The University of Alabama, where Doroudi and Bajgani are students, did not comment on his case but stated that they offer resources to help immigrants on campus comply with federal law. Doroudi described his harrowing experience of spending three days in a county jail before being transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana, over 300 miles away from Tuscaloosa.
The crackdown on international students has affected over 1,000 individuals across the U.S., with many having their visas or legal status revoked. The uncertainty and fear have taken a toll on the Iranian community at the University of Alabama, with once joyous celebrations now overshadowed by a sense of foreboding.
As the situation unfolds, the Iranian students in Tuscaloosa find themselves grappling with a familiar sense of fear and uncertainty, reminiscent of their homeland. The future remains uncertain for Doroudi and others like him, as they navigate the complex and often unforgiving immigration system in the United States.
