Alireza Doroudi, a University of Alabama mechanical engineering doctoral student from Iran arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March, left the United States on Sunday.
Doroudi was being held in the Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility in Louisiana after initially being detained in Pickens County Jail, according to ICE.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson previously told 1819 News regarding their arrest of Doroudi, “ICE HSI made this arrest in accordance with the State Department’s revocation of Doroudi’s student visa. This individual posed significant national security concerns.”
David Rozas, an immigration attorney representing Doroudi, told WBRC on Monday, “Yesterday, June 1, 2025, Alireza Doroudi left the United States to return to Iran. His choice was made in response to a system that failed to uphold fairness, transparency, and due process. For weeks, Mr. Doroudi was held in detention without any substantiated evidence presented to justify the initial claims of national security concerns. Despite having no history of protest or political activity, and despite documentation indicating that his F-1 student visa remained valid until departure, Mr. Doroudi was denied bond and subjected to legal proceedings riddled with delay and contradiction. Following his May 8 hearing before Judge Maithe Gonzalez, Mr. Doroudi made the difficult decision to request voluntary departure. It was a heartbreaking moment. He turned and said, “I love this country, but they don’t want me here, so I will go home.”
“At that hearing, even the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that the central charge of visa revocation did not apply while he remained in the United States, and indicated their intent to drop the charge altogether. Yet, the court delayed action, requiring additional filings despite repeated requests and mounting evidence in his favor. Mr. Doroudi’s return is a warning. When individuals are detained without evidence, forced to disprove unfounded allegations, and pressured to leave a country they sought to contribute to, we must ask: What message are we sending to international students? To immigrant communities? To those who believe in the promise of American justice? This was not justice. This was attrition by detention. And it should never have come to this. As a defense lawyer, I remain committed to seeking accountability for the failures that led to this outcome, and to ensuring that what happened to Mr. Doroudi does not happen again,” Rozas added.
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