U.S. Must Stop Illegal Sharing of Asylum Seekers’ Confidential Records with Iran New Filing Demands
Washington D.C. — Today, the Public Citizen Litigation Group filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and stay in the case of Iranian American Legal Defense Fund v. Rubio to ask the court to stop the Trump administration from sharing private information of Iranian asylum seekers with Iran and order the U.S. government to provide notice to all Iranian asylum seekers whose information was unlawfully shared with the Iranian government.
The preliminary injunction includes a sworn declaration from Cyrus Mehri, IALDF co-founder and board member, who spoke directly with an Iranian official who participated in secret meetings with the U.S. government during which the confidential information was exchanged. Additionally, the preliminary injunction Exhibits in the PI include direct accounts of meetings asylum seekers were forced to take, facilitated by ICE, where they were pressured by Iranian officials to return to Iran.
The asylum seekers include pro-democracy protesters, members of religious minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community who fled to the U.S because they were in grave danger in Iran. In the sworn declarations, asylum seekers spoke of seeing loved ones executed and tortured, and the fear of similar fates if deported.
On Wednesday, Public Citizen and Iranian American Legal Defense Fund held a press conference on the case. Watch it here.
“The United States has long held a tradition of being a home for those fleeing tyranny,” said Cyrus Mehri, witness in the case, civil rights attorney, co-founder and board member of IALDF. “This policy, concocted by Rubio’s State Department, is a direct betrayal of this tradition, taking America from a beacon of hope to a bastion of betrayal. I spoke directly with an Iranian official about this atrocious policy orchestrated by the U.S. government. I was appalled to learn about this grotesque violation of long-held trust between asylum seekers and the country from which they are seeking reprieve. This policy creates a chilling effect among asylum seekers who need help.”
“Even during an ongoing military conflict, the United States has continued to illegally share the confidential documents of Iranian asylum seekers who are being deported back to Iran,” said Michael Kirkpatrick, attorney at Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “We are demanding that the court not only halt the policy, but also stop all removals of people to Iran and give them the opportunity to pursue asylum again, taking into account the new risks of having their asylum applications shared with Iran.”
“These asylum seekers are not statistics. They are human beings who trusted our government and its laws,” said Ali Rahnama, Interim Executive Director of Iranian American Legal Defense Fund. “I have spent the past year visiting ICE detention centers and hearing directly with these individuals who were forced to meet with Iranian officials. These people were terrified to hear the exact details from their asylum applications, even including transcripts from their interviews explaining why they were fearful for their lives in their home country. Marco Rubio’s state department is breaking the law; we are simply asking the U.S. to uphold its own laws.”
About Iranian American Legal Defense Fund:
The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund mission is to empower, protect, and defend Iranian Americans by expanding opportunities, strengthening rights, and fostering inclusion. IALDF works to safeguard civil and political rights, eliminate discrimination, and create pathways for education and economic success. Through advocacy, legal support, and community engagement, IALDF ensures that every Iranian American can thrive, contribute, and shape a more just, inclusive, and prosperous future.
About Public Citizen Litigation Group:
Public Citizen Litigation Group is the litigating arm of the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen. For more than 50 years, the Litigation Group has worked to advance the interests of consumers, workers, and the public, and to hold the government and corporations accountable to the people. Read more at www.citizen.org/litigation.