US 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 US 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 US 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 US and accused them of supporting Hamas militants, being antisemitic and posing hurdles for American foreign policy.