Justification for arrest not clear as Trump administration increasingly targets students for arrest and deportation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US immigration authorities have detained a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, campus officials confirmed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesperson for the state\u2019s flagship university said in a brief statement that a student was arrested \u201coff campus\u201d by federal immigration officials, but declined to comment further, citing privacy laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US government\u2019s justification for detaining the student was not immediately clear, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) did not respond to a request for comment late on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
News of the arrest comes amid reports of the Trump administration increasingly targeting college students<\/a> for arrest and deportation across the country, including people in the US on visas and permanent residents with green cards, raising alarms on campuses and in surrounding communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Crimson White, a student newspaper at the University of Alabama, reported on the arrest<\/a>, saying the targeted student was detained at their home early on Tuesday morning. The individual is Iranian and was in the US on a student visa and studying mechanical engineering, the newspaper said. The university\u2019s College Democrats group said in a statement<\/a> that Trump and Ice \u201chave struck a cold, vicious dagger through the heart of UA\u2019s international community\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was not immediately clear on Wednesday evening if the arrested student had a lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alex House, a university spokesperson, said its international student and scholar services center was available to assist students with concerns: \u201cInternational students studying at the university are valued members of the campus community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But House\u2019s statement added that the university \u201chas and will continue to follow all immigration laws and cooperate with federal authorities\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Alabama arrest was confirmed the same day news broke that Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student at Tufts University in Boston, was detained by federal immigration agents<\/a> and taken to an Ice detention center in Louisiana. Her arrest appeared to be part of the US government\u2019s crackdown on students with ties to pro-Palestinian activism on campus last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Ozturk was in the US on a visa and accused her of supporting Hamas, but did not provide evidence to support its claims. Media reports noted<\/a> that Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar and Turkish citizen, had in March 2024 co-written an opinion piece<\/a> in the Tufts student newspaper, alongside three other authors, supporting calls for the university to \u201cacknowledge the Palestinian genocide\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ozturk\u2019s arrest has sparked widespread outrage as video circulated showing masked officers, in plainclothes, approaching her on the street and taking her into custody. A 32-year-old software engineer whose surveillance camera recorded the arrest told the Associated Press<\/a> it \u201clooked like a kidnapping\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Massachusetts director of Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim civil rights group, said in a statement: \u201cWe unequivocally condemn the abduction of a young Muslim hijab-wearing scholar by masked federal agents in broad daylight. This alarming act of repression is a direct assault on free speech and academic freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ozturk\u2019s lawyer told the New York Times<\/a> she was heading out to break her Ramadan fast with friends when she was detained near her apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tufts\u2019s president said<\/a> the university \u201chad no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event\u201d. The university was told the student\u2019s visa was \u201cterminated\u201d, the president added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ice records suggested Ozturk was taken to Louisiana despite a judge ordering DHS to give advanced notice if officials sought to transfer her out of state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DHS has also faced scrutiny over its efforts to deport Mahmoud Khalil<\/a>, a Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate, who is a green card holder. A US judge in Manhattan on Wednesday blocked immigration officials from detaining Yunseo Chung<\/a>, a Columbia undergraduate, who is also a permanent resident facing threats of deportation for involvement in Gaza solidarity protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n