ByEITAN ELIAS

JULY 12, 2026 15:26

The Trump administration is accused of breaking federal law by passing confidential details about Iranian asylum seekers scheduled for removal to Iranian authorities, according to a lawsuit launched last week by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund.

The IALDF and Public Citizen Litigation Group submitted the complaint on Tuesday in US District Court in Washington, DC. The filing names Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and Acting ICE Director David Venturella, together with their agencies, as defendants.

Plaintiffs argue that officials ignored confidentiality rules, thereby placing pro-democracy activists, LGBTQ individuals, and religious minorities at risk while also endangering relatives still inside Iran and the returnees themselves.

ICE has dismissed the accusations, stating that claims of sharing asylum records with Iranian officials are untrue.

The complaint describes a March 2025 meeting in which an official from the Iranian Interests Section at the Pakistani Embassy asked the State Department for a list of detained Iranians facing deportation. Federal staff reportedly supplied approximately 150 names.

The parties also arranged monthly exchanges of files between ICE and Iranian representatives. These contacts persisted even after military clashes in June 2025 and the outbreak of war on February 28, 2026.

Since the Trump administration resumed office in January 2025, nearly 600 Iranians have been detained nationwide, with half taken into custody during the June 2025 fighting. More than 100 individuals have been removed on three flights to Iran as part of wider immigration enforcement efforts.

Plaintiff counsel says focus remains on removals over safety

Lead counsel Michael Kirkpatrick stated that the administration appears more devoted to large-scale deportations than to safeguarding lives, even during ongoing conflict with Iran.

The suit further claims that ICE required detained applicants to meet Iranian Interests Section officials without consent, reinforcing fears that their identities had been revealed to the same regime they had escaped.

Earlier State Department human rights reports have documented Iranian persecution of minority groups along with abuses such as torture and unlawful killings.

Senators raise alarms with Rubio

In February 2026, twelve senators sent a joint letter to Rubio highlighting risks tied to deporting asylum seekers to Iran.

The letter noted deep concern that returns could expose individuals to persecution or torture, contrary to US and international obligations.

IALDF interim executive director Ali Rahnama said the group seeks an immediate halt to further disclosures, a complete record of all files already shared, and firm guarantees that no future asylum documents reach the hands of persecutors.