Key facts
- A lawsuit alleges U.S. immigration agencies shared confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government.
- The information shared reportedly included details about asylum applications based on persecution for religious conversion, sexuality, or participation in protests.
- Federal regulations prohibit sharing information that could reveal an individual applied for asylum.
- The lawsuit claims this practice violates national immigration regulations and endangers asylum seekers.
- The suit seeks to halt information sharing and appoint an independent monitor.
A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the Trump administration's immigration agencies have been sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government. This practice, detailed in court filings by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund and the Public Citizen Litigation Group, is claimed to violate national immigration regulations and endanger the lives of Iranians seeking refuge.
The lawsuit asserts that starting in March 2025, U.S. officials arranged monthly meetings with Iranian officials, using the Pakistani embassy as an intermediary, to share sensitive details about detained Iranian immigrants slated for deportation. The information allegedly included specifics about asylum applications from individuals fleeing persecution based on their conversion to Christianity, their sexuality, or their participation in the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests. This alleged sharing occurred despite decades of diplomatic hostility between the U.S. and Iran and an ongoing war.
According to the complaint, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) forced Iranian asylum applicants to meet with Iranian government officials who possessed detailed knowledge of their applications. The lawsuit highlights that this occurred even after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes initiated a war with Iran in February 2026. The plaintiffs are seeking to halt the sharing of such information and to appoint an independent monitor to prevent future disclosures.
Attorneys involved stated that Congress mandated these confidentiality protections precisely because lives depend on them, and no administration should disregard them. The allegations surface amid an aggressive immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, which reportedly led to over 600,000 deportations and approximately 1.9 million voluntary departures in 2025. Iranian officials had acknowledged an agreement with the Trump administration to potentially return up to 400 Iranians, with deportation flights occurring in September 2025, December 2025, and January 2026. Reports indicated that some individuals deported on these flights were asylum seekers.