TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (AP) — Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani and her fiancé, Alireza Doroudi, had just spent an evening celebrating the Persian New Year at the University of Alabama when seven armed immigration officers came to their apartment before dawn and arrested Doroudi.

In a moment, the young couple’s life was upended.

“I was living a normal life until that night. After that nothing is just normal,” Bajgani said.

Details about Doroudi’s detention spread through the small Iranian community in Tuscaloosa, where Bajgani and Doroudi are doctoral students. Other Iranian students say they have been informally advised by faculty to “lay low” and “be invisible” — instilling fear among a once vibrant cohort.

Doroudi is among students across the US who have been detained in recent weeks as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Bajgani said the couple does not know why Doroudi — who has no criminal record or public political views — faces deportation, adding that Trump’s recent visit to the school made her feel like the university was “ignorant of our crisis.”

One Iranian civil engineering student and close friend to Doroudi said he has lost over 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) due to stress and depression in the six weeks since Doroudi was detained.

“It’s like all of us are waiting for our turn. It could be every knock, every email could be deportation,” said the student, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about losing his legal status.

He now avoids unnecessary trips outside. When he was in a car crash last month, he begged the other driver not to call the police, even though he wasn’t at fault, because he didn’t want........

© The Times of Israel