Who is Vahid Abedini? ICE detains Oklahoma University professor with valid H-1B visa

in-migration authorities detained a University of Oklahoma professor of Iranian studies on Saturday while he was going to attend an academic conference in Washington, D.C., despite having a valid H-IB visa, as per his colleague.

President Donald Trump campaigned on mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, specifically targeting those with violent criminal records, and his administration ramped up immigration enforcement since his return to office in January.

However, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol are currently under heightened scrutiny due to multiple allegations of misconduct, aggressive tactics, and the detention of individuals who have the right to remain in the United States.

The Trump administration is advancing its plans to execute what it describes as the largest deportation operation in US history, aligning with the Republicans' stringent immigration policy.

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Oklahoma University professor Vahid Abedini was apprehended on November 22 while he was preparing to board a flight to Washington for a conference organized by the Middle East Studies Association, as reported by his colleague, Joshua Landis, in a post on X.

Landis, who is a professor of Middle East Studies at the university, stated, “He has been wrongfully detained because he has a valid H-1B visa - a non-immigrant work visa granted to individuals in ‘specialty occupations,’ including higher education faculty.”

Abedini is an instructor at the University of Oklahoma’s Boren College of International Studies. The University of Oklahoma has not issued any statement on his arrest.

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On Monday, ICE updated its online detainee locator to include Abedini, stating that he is currently in ICE custody and listing his place of birth as Iran. However, his exact location remains undisclosed.

A friend of Abedini informed HuffPost that she had a conversation with him on Monday, confirming that he is in immigration custody, although his specific location is uncertain. “He seems to be in good spirits,” the friend, who chose to remain anonymous, shared with HuffPost. He has access to basic necessities such as towels and blankets, the friend added.

According to the DHS, ICE is gearing up for a significant escalation in enforcement operations as newly trained agents commence their deployment across the country.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a funding bill passed by the Trump administration in July, allots $8 billion to hire 10,000 new deportation officers, $14 billion for transportation and removal operations, and $45 billion to expand ICE's detention capacity to almost 100,000 beds.

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