Attorney: University of Alabama student detained by ICE chooses to return to Iran

A University of Alabama graduate student detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for more than 40 days said he wants to return to Iran, his home country.

David Rozas, an attorney representing Alireza Doroudi, said in a statement Thursday that Douroudi made the decision after a hearing in Jena, Louisiana, where he was taken by authorities after ICE agents took him into custody in March.

“Mr. Doroudi made the difficult decision to ask for and was granted voluntary departure and return to Iran in order to avoid prolonged and unnecessary detention,” Rozas said in the statement. “He turned and looked at me and said, ‘I love this country, but they don’t want me here, so I will go home.”’

A message was sent Friday to the Department of Homeland Security seeking comment.

Rozas said no evidence was ever presented in court that indicated Doroudi, a doctoral student studying mechanical engineering, was a national security risk while he resided in the U.S..

He said the charge that the agency brought against Doroudi was that his F-1 student visa had been revoked and an allegation that he was “not being in status.” But Rozas said the revocations would only take effect upon his departure from the United States, not while he was in the country.

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acknowledged this and indicated during the master hearing their intention to drop the charge. This acknowledges that the initial reason for arrest 45 days ago was an error,” Rozas said.

Rozas said that the judge in the case required DHS to submit in writing to the court the agency’s intent to rescind the charge and have a second hearing to address the issue even though the charge that Doroudi is not “in status” and that “it no longer holds weight without the F-1 revocation, because he was clearly still in status.”

Rozas also stated in his statement that Doroudi’s legal team had submitted evidence on multiple instances and requested a subsequent bond hearing to have him released as the court decides his case. However, the judge refused and stated that the request needed to be filed formally with the court, leaving Doroudi to remain in custody of DHS.

“In the face of this legal uncertainty and prolonged detention, Mr. Doroudi chose to leave voluntarily. This is not only a loss for him personally, but a setback for our system,” Rozas’ statement said. “When due process is delayed or denied, when charges are sustained without standing, and when individuals are forced to choose between uncertain length of detention in a country they feel no longer wants them, or leaving voluntarily, we must ask what kind of precedent we are setting not just for foreign students, but for fairness and justice in America.”