Iran International

An Iranian doctoral student arrested in Louisiana following US airstrikes on Iran must be released and protected from deportation, a federal magistrate judge ruled on Monday, the New York Times reported.

Pouria Pourhossein Hendabad, 29, was arrested on June 22 in Baton Rouge, where he was pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering at Louisiana State University. He and his wife, Parisa Firouzabadi, were detained after reporting a car accident. According to his lawyers, officers posing as state police lured the couple out of their home and handed them over to a waiting team of ICE agents in tactical gear.

He had a valid student visa through 2030 and faced no known criminal charges. His attorneys called the arrest “an unconstitutional ruse,” and said it was carried out without a warrant or legal justification.

On Monday, Magistrate Judge Joseph H.L. Perez-Montes ordered his immediate release and barred the government from deporting or transferring him, citing a “grave risk” of irreparable harm.

Part of a growing pattern

Pourhosseinhendabad’s case is the latest in a string of arrests of Iranian students and nationals in the US this year.

In March, Alireza Doroudi, a PhD student at the University of Alabama, was arrested by ICE without formal charges and held for six weeks before choosing to self-deport.

His lawyers said the government admitted it had no evidence he posed a national security threat, but prolonged detention and pressure forced him to leave the country.

More than 130 Iranians arrested after US strikes

In late June, more than 130 Iranian nationals were detained across the country in a sweeping enforcement operation, according to Fox News. Federal officials said some had ties to the IRGC or Hezbollah, but many of those arrested, including students and recent immigrants, faced no public charges.