Iranian academic and anti-war activist detained by ICE in US despite valid visa: Reports
Yousof Azizi, an Iranian academic and PhD candidate in Public Administration & Policy at Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), has been reportedly detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to reports, he was detained despite having no issues with his visa status in the US.
He has not yet been allowed to meet with his lawyers, reports stated, and ICE is now discussing transferring him to a detention center in Louisiana.
Azizi, who is also a media personality with regular appearances on multiple international English and Persian media outlets, including Press TV, was taken into custody in front of his home, according to reports that Press TV cannot independently confirm.
Azizi has been one of the few voices in the Persian media sphere to openly and vociferously oppose American-Israeli war and sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Yousof Azizi, a PhD candidate in Public Administration & Policy at Virginia Tech (SPIA) and a media personality with hundreds of appearances on BBC Persian, has been detained by ICE—despite having no issues with his visa status.
— Ali Alizadeh (@ali7adeh) April 14, 2026
He was taken in front of his home, has not yet been… pic.twitter.com/WRf3Ndfqau
His media commentary has consistently criticized US military aggression against the Islamic Republic, in June last year and most recently during the Ramadan War.
Azizi was very active on his social media, condemning the unprovoked US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran, and appeared on many news channels in and outside the US.
The lack of access to legal counsel and the prospect of out-of-state transfer have alarmed civil rights advocates in the US, who view it as an example of politically driven immigration enforcement, which has become common under the Trump administration.
Hundreds of foreign nationals, including Iranians, have been detained or deported by immigration authorities in the US in recent months on flimsy pretexts.
At the time of publishing this report, more details about his detention were awaited.
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