Lawsuit Alleges US Shared Iranian Asylum Seekers’ Information
A recent lawsuit accuses the Trump administration’s immigration bodies of passing on confidential data about Iranian asylum seekers to Iran’s government. This act reportedly violates US immigration laws and endangers many Iranians, as outlined in court documents. The suit portrays a joint initiative between US and Iranian officials to locate Iranians detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and encourage their return to Iran. This marks a significant change from years of hostile diplomatic relations between the nations and a standing conflict.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refutes claims of sharing asylum application information with Iran. Public records, accessed by the National Iranian American Council, reveal around 600 Iranians were detained last year for immigration reasons. Previously, the United States welcomed many Iranian dissidents and exiles since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The lawsuit notes a significant policy shift, as illustrated by the June deportation of an Iranian woman among others to the Central African Republic.
Federal laws from the late 1990s forbid sharing details that could identify asylum applicants in deportation cases. According to Ali Rahnama, interim head of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, Congress enforced these confidentiality measures because they save lives, and no administration or agency should bypass them. Starting March 2025, the US State Department reportedly held monthly meetings with Iranian representatives, using the Pakistani embassy as a channel. During these sessions, US officials purportedly shared sensitive information about Iranian immigrants in US custody, as detailed by the lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Washington, D.C.
“Congress made these confidentiality protections mandatory precisely because lives depend on them,” stated Ali Rahnama.
The lawsuit explains the specifics about the detained Iranians’ asylum claims, who allegedly faced persecution due to religious conversion, sexuality, or participation in anti-Iran protests. Despite joint US-Israel military actions against Iran beginning in February 2026, ICE allegedly compelled Iranian detainees to interact with an Iranian official knowledgeable about their cases.
The DHS responded on Tuesday, clarifying that ICE works to secure travel documents and ensures “consular access to detained individuals, in line with the law.” Homeland Security subordinates accusations of sharing asylum data with Iran.
The lawsuit aims to stop sharing asylum seekers’ details with Iran and demands an independent overseer to prevent such breaches in the future. Attorney Michael Kirkpatrick from Public Citizen Litigation Group remarked, “Despite the ongoing conflict with Iran, the administration focuses more on deportation than safeguarding lives.” The complaint names DHS, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, among other defendants.
These allegations surface during President Trump’s administration’s extensive immigration agenda, which resulted in over 600,000 forced deportations and led to approximately 1.9 million voluntary emigrations in 2025. Iranian officials admitted in September 2025 that roughly 400 Iranians might return through an agreement with Trump’s administration. Following this, the first of three deportation flights returned multiple Iranians to their home country. The New York Times highlighted that some deported during these flights were asylum seekers.