Alireza Doroudi, the University of Alabama doctoral student detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March, self-deported back to Iran Sunday.
Doroudi was held in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana for nine weeks without bail. The Department of Homeland Security alleged he posed “significant national security concerns” but it never provided evidence for its claims.
“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,” said David Rozas, Doroudi’s attorney.
Rozas said that at the May 8 court hearing where Doroudi asked for voluntary departure, that the DHS acknowledged the central charge of visa revocation did not apply while he remained in the country, adding that DHS “indicated during the master hearing their intention to drop the charge.”
In a statement to The Crimson White, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that Doroudi had decided to self-deport and said that self-deportation is the “best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest” for immigrants here illegally. However, Doroudi was present legally in the United States, Rozas said previously.
When asked about the intent to drop the charge, a senior DHS official said that the department generally does not comment on specific cases or actions taken under the ICE HSI Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
The official’s statement cited “privacy concerns and visa confidentiality” as reasons DHS does not typically comment on such actions, despite a previous statement in March naming Doroudi and saying his visa had been revoked.
The senior official deferred comment about case-specific visa revocations to the Department of State. However, the Department of State said that it “generally” does not comment on ongoing or pending litigation or “Department actions with respect to specific cases.”
Rozas said that the court delayed action and required additional filings despite multiple requests and “mounting evidence” in Doroudi’s favor. Kathryn Mattingly, press secretary for the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees federal immigration courts, declined to comment.
The University did not respond to questions regarding whether it had provided Doroudi with any legal assistance, nor its comment on the outcome of the case nor if it had a message for international students potentially facing similar circumstances.
“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?” Rozas said. “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 said.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Alireza Doroudi voluntarily deports to Iran )
Also on site :