Months after being detained by ICE in Alabama, Alireza Doroudi marries fiancée in Iran

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Before being detained outside his apartment in Tuscaloosa by immigration officers back in the spring, Alireza Doroudi was in the middle of planning his wedding.

In March, those plans changed with Doroudi, a graduate student studying mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama, was detained by agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the early morning hours over his visa being revoked and, as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleged, was a “threat to national security.” From there, he was taken to a holding facility in Jena, Louisiana, where he was held for two months before finally deciding to go back to his home country of Iran.

Throughout his detention, the U.S. government never proved that he was in the country illegally or that he was a security risk. In fact, because of his student status, he was still eligible to work in the U.S. as long as he stayed in school.

By June, Doroudi had flown back to Iran, mere weeks before the U.S. launched missile strikes on the country, hitting three nuclear facilities at the behest of Israel. At the time, Doroudi’s fiance, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani, was still in Alabama, where she was finishing her studies.

However, Doroudi and Bajgani finally had their wedding and were married Sept. 3 in Iran alongside their friends and family.

“Time of happiness and registration of marriage vows,” Bajgani wrote in an Instagram post earlier this week. “We missed our dear ones who were far away. Hope to see you again.”

Doroudi’s detainment came at a time of highly publicized ICE raids near college campuses.

Before leaving for Iran, Bajgani told CBS 42 of how disappointed she was that neither she or Doroudi could find their way in the American Dream, but that they will find a way to be happy together.

“I wish we could have that happy dream somewhere in this universe,” she said. “I believe there is somewhere for both of us that they will understand how good we are, how good and pure of people we are. We are kind and are considerate of other people and we are nothing like a threat to the community.”