An Iranian student in American detention makes a difficult choice: stay or go home

On the 42nd day of his imprisonment in an immigration center in the pine forests of Central Louisiana, Alireza Doroudi seemed to be about to get out.

A few minutes before his last hearing of immigration Last Thursday, the government said it would make one of the charges fall against him. Other international students who, like him, had been held by the authorities, were released one by one.

But shortly before the hearing began, Mr. Doroudi’s fiancé, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani, one of the few people who had come to look, was not hopeful. “I don’t think I can trust anything, to be honest,” she whispered.

A resident of Iran, Mr. Doroudi, 32, was promoted in the country in mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama. He had no run-ins with the law outside of a few traffic scitations.

But early in the morning on March 25, American immigration resources showed up in Mr.’s apartment. Doroudi in Tuscaloosa and brought him into custody.

At the time of the arrest, the authorities told the news media that Mr. Doroudi was ‘important national security problems’. They have never worked out, even before the court, said Mr. Doroudi’s lawyer. The charges against him only concerned his legal status as an international student.

International students receive visas with which they can enter the United States, where they must follow certain rules to stay legally in the country. Mr. Doroudi’s case included two charges: that he was illegal in the country because his visa had been withdrawn and that he had not since maintained the legal status to stay in the United States. Mr. Doroudi’s lawyer said that the visa only applied to his access to the country – that is, he could not leave now and return – and that university data showed that he had never lost legal status, even during his detention.

The Ministry of Interior Security has not commented on the allegations.

Almost 2,000 students have canceled their visas through the Trump administration, often related to small violations, such as speeding violations. Students have challenged the cancellations before the court and many visas have recovered in recent weeks.

Mr. Doroudi’s case was different. His case was one of the handful of where the Trump administration called the concern about national security. Some of those students were pronounced about the Palestinian case, but it was unclear how Mr. Doroudi, whose fiancé said he was not involved in politics, had drawn the notification of the federal government.

The other cases had led to protests on criticism that the government violated the civil rights. There was Mahmoud Khalil, graduated from Columbia University and a legal permanent resident who was held at the beginning of March. And Rumeysa Ozturk, a student of Tufts University, who was held in a detention facility in South Louisiana. Mrs. Ozturk, who apparently was the target because of a pro-Palestinian essay she wrote together, was to be released by a federal judge On Friday and walked out of detention to cheering supporters and collected media.

Mr. Doroudi’s case did not attract the same attention.

HS -lawyer, David Rozas, one of the few immigration layers of Louisiana, had encouraged him to fight his detention in the federal court.

Mr. Doroudi didn’t want that. He missed his studies and did not do his days well in a loud dormitory behind gates and razor thread, his fiancé said. He told her that his vision and hearing deteriorated and that his mental health suffered. And he was convinced, his lawyer said that whatever happened, the authorities would never let him out.

Mr. Rozas said that he had seen this more and more of customers in detention. People with strong cases for release, some of whom had lived in the United States for years, gave up, because hearings were delayed for weeks and because they got the feeling that the country just didn’t want them.

But then Mr. Rozas prepared to get the hearing for Mr. Doroudi on Thursday, he received an e -mail with good news. The government had acknowledged in submitting that it had no evidence to support the indictment where the Mr. Doroudi was arrested. It was possible that he could walk free that day.

Courtroom 4, one of the many immigration hearing rooms along a narrow hall in the detention facility, was small, with walls of painted cinder block. The seven benches in the galley were almost empty.

Mrs. Bajgani came in and smiled at her fiancé, who was sitting at the defense table in loose prison clothing.

He looked like he had lost weight, she whispered. Mrs Bajgani had told Mr. Doroudi’s parents back in Iran, who are concerned with worries that everything would work. She didn’t know if she believed that more.

“I don’t think this is very hopeful,” said Mrs. Bajgani.

Right Maithe Gonzalez entered the courtroom. Within minutes she said she was the first charge to Mr. Doroudi would maintain and ordered his removal.

After some back and forth, and some poking from Mr. Rozas, Numa Metoyer, a lawyer from the Department of Homeland Security, explained to the judge that the government was planning to drop that charge, with regard to the withdrawal of the visa. The lawyers had revised the evidence and discovered that it did not apply to Mr Doroudi’s case, he left the country. But he said that a second indictment was still viable, with regard to the current immigration status of Mr Doroudi.

Mr. Rozas leaned forward to Mr. Doroudi. The second charge would not get up, he whispered. His status was all fine. In the federal court: “You win, 100 percent,” he said.

Mr. Doroudi shook his head. “No, no, no,” he whispered.

The judge insisted that the government stated this in the writing. She announced that there would be another hearing in Mr Doroudi’s case within two weeks.

“No, no,” Mr. Doroudi whispered.

Mr. Rozas asked the judge if Mr Doroudi could be released on Bond, but the judge cut him off. “That’s not the way this works,” she said.

Mr. Rozas looked at his client and then turned to the judge. Mr. Doroudi asked to leave the country voluntarily. This was against his advice, Mr. Rozas said. But Mr. Doroudi had had enough.

Judge Gonzalez asked Mr. Doroudi if this was really what he wanted.

“I came here for studying in one of the best countries in the world,” he started, but she cut him off.

She told him he had to answer yes or no.

“To be honest, I don’t want to stay here anymore,” he said. “This place is not good for me. I want to go home.”

The judge interrupted again. Yes or no?

“Yes,” he said. Mrs. Bajgani nodded with her head in accordance with her head.

“You got the privilege to leave the United States voluntarily,” said Judge Gonzalez, and then went on some of the logistics details.

“Is this a final decision for you?” she asked.

“Thank you,” said Mr. Doroudi.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes, your honor.”

She then postponed the court.

Brent McDonald contributed reporting.