Fiancee of Alireza Doroudi says days since his arrest by ICE outside University of Alabama campus have ‘pushed us past our limits’

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — The fiancee of an Iranian student who was detained by immigration officers in the middle of the night from his apartment near the University of Alabama is speaking on what the ordeal has been like for them.

Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani, who is engaged to UA doctoral student Alireza Doroudi, recently took to social media to let people know what he has been going through since his arrest.

“These past few days have been some of the hardest and most overwhelming I’ve ever experienced,” Bajgani wrote on Facebook Monday.

“I’ve spent countless hours on the phone with Alireza, trying to make sure he has everything he needs and that he feels heard and understood. Some incredibly kind people sent him letters – and he received them. He told me he’s going to keep them close.”

Doroudi was picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 25, two years after first coming to the United States to study mechanical engineering. According to Bajgani, Doroudi’s visa was revoked six months after arriving in the country and was given no explanation why. His attorney, David Rozas, said Doroudi’s SEVIS permit was still valid and that he was in the process of applying for permanent residency at the time of his arrest.

Despite an official with the Department of Homeland Security claiming that Doroudi posed “significant national security concerns,” those concerns have never been addressed, nor has he been charged with anything.

As of Tuesday, Doroudi is being held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena, Louisiana, along with nearly 1,200 other people picked up by ICE.

Following Doroudi’s arrest, Bajgani started a GoFundMe account to help pay his legal bills. Before donations were closed, she had raised nearly $26,000.

“I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, on his behalf, for your support and kindness,” she said. “This experience has pushed us past our limits, and these letters reminded us that we’re not alone – that we’re cared for and supported.”

Doroudi is set for a bond hearing April 14.