US federal immigration agents detain doctoral student at University of Alabama

PHOTO CAPTION: REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -     U.S. federal immigration agents detained a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, the university said in a statement to media on Wednesday.

The university did not identify the student but records on the website of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) showed that Alireza Doroundi, an Iranian citizen, was detained by the agency. The records did not show which ICE facility he was detained in.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was not clear why the Iranian citizen was detained.

Doroudi studied mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama and specialized in metallurgical engineering, according to his LinkedIn page. The New York Times and other media first reported the news.

The detention comes as President Donald Trump has pledged to deport foreign pro-Palestinian protesters in the U.S. and accused them of supporting Hamas militants, being antisemitic and posing hurdles for American foreign policy.

Protesters, including some Jewish groups, deny such claims by saying the Trump administration conflates their criticism of Israel's assault on Gaza and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism and support for Hamas.

Trump's administration has also been targeting international students as it seeks to crack down on immigration, including ramping up immigration arrests and sharply restricting border crossings. 

In recent days, some other students have also been targeted by the Trump administration in various educational institutions.

 (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)